119 



HOLOCENE SHELLS AT RUCKLAND, NEAR 

 LOUTH, LINCOLNSHIRE. 



C. S. CARTER, 



In their plav at ' Primitive Man,' tlie children of the Gyps^^'s 

 Parson, Rev. Geo. Hall, excavated a ' cave ' in the hillside, in 

 the Rectory Grounds, Ruckland, near Louth. 



In this excavation they cut through a large basin-shaped 

 pit in the chalk. This pit had been filled in with small water- 

 washed stones and dark earth in which were found various 

 objects of interest, consisting of fragments of Pottery, bones, 

 seeds, shells, charcoal, etc. 



The cave when finished was about 8 ft. in length, 5 ft. in 

 width, and about 4I ft. in height and was entered by a low- 

 winding tunnel about 5 ft. or 6 ft. long. Mr. Hall invited me 

 over to see the children's cave and the objects they had found. 

 These latter they entrusted to my care for further investigation, 

 together with a box of the soil to wash. It was hoped to 

 extend the excavation for the purpose of more definitel}^ 

 determining the nature and date of the deposit, but it was 

 found almost impossible on account of tree-roots and buildings. 



The objects found were submitted to A. Santer Kennard, 

 F.G.S., to whom students of Holocene Deposits are indebted 

 for the immense amount of information now accessible. His 

 remarks are incorporated in the following notes on the objects 

 found. 



Pottery. — There are eight fragments of pottery repre- 

 senting probably four or five vessels. One fragment (half the 

 base) is ' decidedly well made and is probably of Romano- 

 British Age, as is also a small fragment of a rim.' The remainder 

 belongs to a different class ; ' it is ill made, badly fired and 

 made from bad material and may well be of local manufacture ; 

 there is nothing distinctive about it, but it is not improbably 

 of Romano-British Age, since similar pottery often occurs on 

 the site of Romano-British Villages.' 



Seeds. — These consist of Hawthorn, Galium (?), Elder, 

 Medick (?) and others not easily determinable. One hawthorn 

 ' stone ' showed signs of having been gnawed by a small rodent. 



Bones. — These were not in great quantity, but were of 

 interest, particularly a portion of a Red-deer Antler. 



Bos longijrons (Ox). — Five teeth and the basal portion 

 of a horn core may well be referred to this species, and probably 

 some of the fragments also belong to this species. 



Aries sp. (Sheep). — Six teeth and one bone. 



Microtus agrestis (Field- Vole). — A molar. 



Soxex sp. (Shrew). — A few bones. 



Rana temporaria (Frog). — A few bones. 



1918 April ^. 



