Dr. H. Woodward—Supposed Pholas-borings, Fayim. 399 
‘“‘(a) Low-level borings. Between Tamia and Dimé, near the eastern 
end of the Birket el Qurin, the lowest ground, consisting of poor sandy 
land with tamarisk scrub, bordering the lake and cultivation [ the lake | 
is bounded by a low escarpment of beds of the Birket el Qurun Series. 
Along certain horizons one or more beds of calcareous sandstone 
weather into large globular masses, which, as already pointed out, are 
in reality huge concretions,' but which may have been further rounded 
by water action. The chief point is, however, the fact that these 
blocks are honeycombed in the most remarkable way by beautiful 
examples of borings; their presence was first noticed by Schweinfurth. 
The globular masses of sandstone, often several feet in diameter, are 
worn on the surface into a number of parallel ledges, each of which is 
perforated by countless numbers of vertical holes, averaging 10 mm. in 
diameter (maximum 15mm.), placed at right angles to the ledges; 
these holes are not, as a rule, connected from one ledge to another. 
They occur in every stage of perfection, from hollows as small as the 
finger-tips and only a few millimetres deep to long complete chambers 
which generally show considerable tapering, and are often placed so 
close together that the dividing wall is pierced [see woodcut ]. 
“Block of sandstone pierced by numerous borings,’’ reproduced from Mr. H. J. L. 
Beadnell’s Topography and Geology of the Fayim Province of Egypt (Cairo, 
1905), p. 72, fig. 7. 
“‘ At El Kenisa, a promontory jutting out into the lake, sandstones 
showing shell-borings occur at a height of 14 metres above sea-level. 
Between Dimé and the lake a calcareous sandstone contains many 
borings, 66 metres above the lake-level or about 22 metres above 
sea-level. 
(6) High-level borings. Further west, but at a considerably 
higher level, borings are again met with. In this case a hard compact 
limestone, forming a dip-slope surface on the top of the lower cliff of 
the Qasr el Sagha Series, was found pierced with borings, similar in 
character to those of the lower level. The exact locality where these 
high-level borings were observed is 14 kilometres west of the western 
end of the lake and 16 kilometres north-east of the eastern extremity 
1 See infra, p. 401. 
