62 EGYPT : RAISED BEACHES I TERRACES 



There have been oscillations of the land, but no sub- 

 mergence such as would appear to be indicated by the 

 several forms of the Rubble -drift. 



Egypt. Though there are Raised Beaches and high- 

 level river terraces in Egypt showing considerable 

 changes of level, there is no distinct evidence of the 

 country having been submerged at the period in 

 question. Had any such evidence existed, it could 

 hardly have escaped the notice of the many geologists 

 who have explored that country. The long lines of 

 limestone escarpments, and the great extent of sec- 

 tions exposed in quarries, could hardly have failed to 

 have revealed such conspicuous objects as Ossiferous 

 fissures and Osseous breccias had there been any. 

 One* of the higher Raised Beaches was found by Sir 

 J. W. Dawson on the Mokattan hill, near Cairo, at 

 a height of about 200 ft. above the sea-level. It 

 contained species of Ostrea, Pecten, Terebratula, 

 Lithodomus, and Balanus. 1 



The old river terraces above Assouan are about 

 120 ft. above the level of the Nile. Dr. Leith Adams 

 states 2 that they contain several species of freshwater 

 shells, and amongst them the Corbicula (Cyrena) 

 Jluminalis so common in pre-glacial and post-glacial 

 times in England, but now confined to Thibet and 

 some other parts of Asia. 



Nor have any of the deep borings 3 made of late 



1 Syria and Egypt, Chapters ii. and iv. 



2 TJie Nile Valley and Malta, pp. 161-238. 



* Leonard Horner, Phil. Trans, for 1855 and 1858 ; Prof. Judd, 

 Proc. Roy. Soc. for 1885, p. 213. 



