622 KEPORT — 1881. 



The author reserves for another occasion the description of the beds next in 

 order; but he would mention here, that the Boulder Clay and some Glacial gravels 

 occupy in Herts and Berks a lower horizon than the Westleton Beds. It would 

 therefore appear that, while the eastern area was submerged, and the strata 

 followed in regular succession upon a surface which did not undergo denudation, 

 the southern and western area was slowly elevated, and underwent partial denuda- 

 tion before the Upper Boulder Clay was deposited. Previous to the period of the 

 Westleton and Mundesley beds, it is probable that the deeper denudation of the 

 "Weald had hardly commenced. The northern part of this area was imder the 

 sea at the beginning of the Cra? period (the Lenham Beds), and judging from 

 the character of the beds at Well Hill^ Cherry Down, &c., the author concludes 

 that there was land south of this fringing shingle, whence the great mass of Chalk- 

 fiints and of Lower Greensand chert and ragstone must have been derived. The 

 quantity of this debris serves to attest to the great mass of these strata that was 

 subsequently removed from the Wealden area. After the rise of the more 

 central and northern parts of the area over which the Westleton Beds extended, 

 that area also underwent extensive denudation, and it was at this period that the 

 great plain of the Thames Valley received its first outlines, although it was not 

 until much later that the river valley received its last impress. 



4. A preliminary account of the worlcing of DowTcerhottom Gave, in Craven^ 

 during August, 1881.' Bij E. B. Poulton, M.A., F.G.8. 



Dowkerbottom Cave is 1,250 feet above the sea, between Arncliffe and Kilnsey. 

 Its mouth is merely a fall in the roof of the cave, which stretches from either end 

 of the fissure thus formed. The original mouth is not now visible, but is probably 

 to be found at the foot of a slope to the south. During most of its course the 

 chambers and passages of the cave are not separated by any great thickness of rock 

 from the ground above, and thus other falls must be expected to occur. The 

 eastern division of the cave is about 4o0 feet long and has three fine chambers 

 separated by two passages — the first very short and the second very long. This 

 division ends under high ground to the north-west, and the true mouth must be 

 in the other or western division. The last chamber on the eastern side is charac- 

 terised by mechanical deposits — blocks of limestone fallen from the roof, and a 

 stiff" brown clay beneath. In the other chambers and passages of both sides are 

 chemical deposits — hard and soft stalagmite. The western division is smaller, but 

 also contains three chambers and two passages. It must be about 350 feet long 

 and contains various heaps of limestone blocks fallen from the roof, but no clay on 

 the surface. In former workings by JMr. Farrer, Mr. Denny, and Mr. Jackson, the 

 first chambers were explored, in their surface layers at least, and here were found 

 the numerous metal and bone ornaments and implements, together with the bones 

 of animals usually found (in the historic layers of Romano-British age) in caves. 

 The second passages have also been worked, and part of the second chamber on 

 the eastern side. Other parts of the cave appear to be quite untouched. The 

 great difficulty in working the cave is the removal of the dehris to prevent inter- 

 fering with further work. We therefore put up a windlays over the eastern 

 entrance, and cleared a way for barrows through the talus below. Beneath the 

 talus, the black earth, in which remains had been previously found, was seen, and 

 many articles of Roman age were taken from it. Chamber III. was marked into 

 parallels and these into squares. In the centre we sunk a shaft and passed through 

 the following layers : — 



(1) Romano-British layer, a black earth with pottery, ornaments,? &c., and 

 numerous bones, from one to nine inches thick. (2) Hardish stalaf/mite, about 

 six inches thick : in one place containing the bones of a dog or small wolf. (3> 

 Soft stalagmite, four inches thick. (4) Hardish stalarimite, six inches thick. 

 (5) Soft stalapiiiife, two feet six inches thick. (6) Stiff brown clay with large 



• A paper on the whole work at the Cave has been read (Oct. 12), before the 

 Geological and Polytechnic Society of Yorkshire, by Mr. Poulton, and will be found 

 in the Proceedings of that Society. 



