1844.] 441 



marks of the fault already alluded to. From this quarry large 

 reptilian bones and fishes' teeth have been obtained, and other 

 fossils, such as Clypeus sinuatus, Plagiostoma cardiforme, Pecten 

 vagans, Ostrea acuminata, a Nerita, and other shells. Not far 

 from this, at a place called Wagboro' Bush, is a quarry not now 

 worked, but the fossils from which are considered by the authors 

 to identify the rock with the well-known beds at Ancliffe. These 

 fossils are Nerita spirata, N. minuta, Actceon cuspidatus, Nucula 

 mucronata, a Corbula, and a Cerithium. 



The district described in the preceding account of strata has 

 been subject to disturbances, the result of which has been the 

 production of several lines of faults. One of these is represented 

 in the preceding diagram. (Section No. 1.) 



The beds from Cheltenham across the hills preserve their regu- 

 lar order and dip (seldom exceeding 10°) ; the upper beds of the 

 inferior oolite marking the highest points of the Cotteswold range. 

 From Brockhampton the higher ground proceeds about a mile and 

 a half in a northerly direction to Charlton Abbotts (which is 

 higher than Brockhampton Common) : it then turns suddenly to 

 the east, bounding Kyneton Thorns, which is situated in a fault 

 valley extending from Kyneton to Eyeford. 



The line of fault from Brockhampton is continued for about 

 a mile to the south, where it takes a sudden turn, and is continued 

 in irregular lines to the south-east, joining the eastern line at 

 Stow-on-the-Wold. 



There are other minor faults in the district, but they do not 

 affect the Stonesfield slate formation. 



There is evidence of denudation in the district under review, 

 the upper clays being frequently absent : besides that the slopes 

 of the hills are more or less covered by waterworn debris, and 

 smaller deposits fill up hollows in the valleys to the depth of 20 or 

 30 feet. 



The Authors conclude with the following general summary : — 



" From the foregoing examination of the upper beds of the 

 Cotteswold Hills, we are led to the following conclusions : — 



" 1st. That the Stonesfield slate occupies a considerable extent 

 in the Cotteswold range of hills, as we have traced it over a dis- 

 trict which would scarcely be enclosed within an area of fifty miles ; 

 and that this formation, as it occurs in this part of the country, is 

 identical with that at Stonesfield, both in its lithological and zoolo- 

 gical characters ; indeed it is clearly traceable, with few interrup- 

 tions, from Sevenhampton, within five miles of Cheltenham, to 

 Stonesfield near Blenheim in Oxfordshire. 



" 2dly. That the Stonesfield slate in the district above described 

 is so intermixed with the ragstone, particularly at the edges of 

 the formation, as to be scarcely, if at all, separable from it, and 

 (as has been shown) this ragstone presents fossils of a like charac- 

 ter with those of the great oolite. We are thus led to adopt the 

 conclusion, that the Stonesfield slate is part of the Great oolite 



K K 4 



