32 S REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE, ETC. 



II. General Observations on Cutting IX, through the S.S.E. Fosse, 1922. 



Tlie fosse eKcavation marked out ior examination in i914 was slightly 

 extended to 44.5 ft. in length, and the width was regulated by the line taken 

 by the escai-p and counterscarp of the fosse, after the fosse had slightly increased 

 in widtli owing to exposure of the upper parts to the atmosphere since 1914. 

 The width at tlie east end was, however, for sectional purposes, put at 35.5 ft. 



It took the greater part of the first week to remove the rubbish and the eight 

 years' accumulation of silting ; and from that time the previously untouched 

 silting, consisting of mould at the top, mixed silting lower, and chalk rubble in 

 the bottom half, was removed in such a way that it passed through three or 

 four hands, thereby lessening, even with partly untrained men, the chance of 

 missing pottery, flints, bones, and other remains mixed with the silting. 

 ' Finds,' however, of small kinds were few, and were it not for tlie red-deer 

 antler (picks, levers, &c.) the number of the relics would be decidedly small. 



The Report of 1915 should be read in conjunction with the one now pre- 

 sented, for little that was said there about Cutting IX, Fosse, is repeated here. 



Structurally, this part of the fosse was most interesting, not only by reason 

 of its enormous depth and size but also on account of the great irregularity of 

 the bottom. Then, with regard to the ' finds,' negative evidence was again 

 ahorded by the entire absence of any trace of metal in the lower silting (cualic 

 rubble) of the fosse. Near the bottom of the mixed silting and above the 

 chalk rubble, fragments of pottery of the beaker type were found in these 

 excavations for the first time. 



Dfptli of the Fosse. — At the close of the excavations of 1914 I could measure 

 the depth of this part of the fosse approximately only, owing to bad weather 

 and diriiculty in getting a true vertical measurement. The depth from the 

 brink of the fosse to the original floor at the west end of the cutting was given 

 as 29.5 ft. (see B.A. Report, ±915, p. 178). This should be increased by 0.75 ft., 

 making the maximum depth of the fosse at this point 30.25 ft.- The vertical 

 measurement from the top of the ancient causeway to the bottom of the fosse 

 proved to be 35.75 ft., and from the crest of the vallum to the floor about 55.5 ft. 

 (This is the only statement I have to correct in the 1915 Report.) 



The, Silting. — On removing the silting at the east end of the cutting it was 

 found that in the middle the top of the chalk rubble was reached at a depth 

 of 7 ft., but owing to the curvature of the strata in the silting the chalk rubble 

 on the sides of the fosse extended almost to the top. This concavity in the 

 layers of the silting was extremely well seen on the east face of this cutting 

 just before the completion of the digging and during the final stages in clearing 

 up the floor. It was intended to photograph this interesting feature on the 

 last day of the work, and the silting was being specially trimmed down for 

 the purpose. However, owing to wind, hail, and rain this loose face of silting 

 would not stand, and a few tons of the material crashed to the bottom of the 

 fosse, smashing our largest ladder in the fall. This disaster was much to be 

 regretted, as this ' face ' showed excellently the strata representing the long 

 periods of time during which the silting had formed. 



The upper 2£- ft. of silting consisted of mould containing modern and 

 mediaeval remains. Roman objects extended down to a maximum depth of 

 3.8 ft. Everything below that (in the middle) was of prehistoric date. At a 

 maximum distance of 10 ft. from the east end of the cutting several pieces of 

 sarsen stone were found at depths varying from 5 ft. to 5.6 ft. They measured 

 from 0.5 ft. to 0.75 ft. across, and were apparently not arranged in any special 

 order. jNIuch fewer and smaller fragments were found between 3.5 ft. and 5 ft. 



In clearing the bottom of the fosse it was found that the chalk rubble in 

 the middle and near the causeway was very large, some pieces measuring 0.75 ft. 

 across. At tlie sides of the fosse, as would be expected, the rubble was much 

 smaller. Small pieces of ochreous clay were occasionally met with in the rubble. 



Charcoal. — A piece of charcoal found deep in the rubble proved to be Hazel 

 [Coryhis Avellana, L.). At the bottom of the yellowish-brown mould, depth 

 6.8 ft., charcoal was collected, which ^Ir. A. H. Lyell also examined; this was 

 identified as Hornbeam [Carpiniis Bctiilus, L.). 



^ Taken along the sloping chalk wall of the fosse from brink to floor the 

 measurement was 34 ft. 



