F. A. Bedwell — Ammonites in Thanet Cliffs. 19 



to be seen rising out of tlie sand line, which require a very special 

 notice. They are separated from each oth er by a depth of 31 feet. 

 The upper of these forms an almost solid " floor " of flint of about 3 

 to 4 inches thick, which underlies the whole Isle of Thaaet. Here 

 and there it is pierced by small irregular rings or pockets of chalk, 

 which appearing at uncertain intervals, check its absolute continuity ; 

 but its general aspect is that of a rigid, inflexible, almost rocky 

 flooring. Three well-diggers independently informed me that they 

 knew it all over the island, and they pronounced it as having always 

 the one aspect above described ; one of them had pierced it as far 

 west as Westgate. It is seen rising up to the beach line in an 

 altogether unexpected manner at the point P in the map and section, 

 which is a spot at the back of Margate Harbour, close to where the 

 carriage-road runs down under a bridge on to the sands. It does not 

 appear again until we reach Kingsgate, and there it rises once more, 

 and then runs along the face of the cliff by a series of faults to Peg- 

 well, and there sinks again below the sand line. It must have a decided 

 influence on the drainage of the island, and particularly on that of 

 Margate, to the lower part of which I believe it forms a natural and 

 nearly impermeable floor, and accounts for the condition in which I 

 have sometimes seen portions of that town. 



The line of flint mentioned as rising at the Foreland lies 31 feet 

 below this " three-inch band," and it is equally remarkable. It is a 

 foot and even more thick, but is wholly different in appearance from 

 the other. It is like a large mass of irregular honeycomb, or ant's 

 nest or wood which has been extensively bored by some huge xylo- 

 phagous mollusc. But its chief peculiarity is this, that from it at 

 irregular intervals spring perpendicularly columns of flint similar in 

 constitution to itself, and extending to a height of a foot or a foot 

 and a half, and sometimes even uniting it with the line of flint next 

 above, and making one think for a moment of a honeycombed 

 "potstone." 



Mr. Whitaker has mentioned the " three-inch band " in his 

 Geology of the London Basin, and he states there that it is to be 

 seen at the top of the cliffs between Deal and Dover, surmounted by 

 a portion of the Isle of Thanet Chalk. I am able to confirm this 

 statement by a piece of evidence which puts it, I think, beyond all 

 doubt. On recently visiting the cliffs at Old Stairs Bay, beyond 

 Walmer, I found that they are very high and inaccessible, but that 

 undoubtedly there is a line at the top of the cliff there which, in 

 appearance, bears a most striking resemblance to the " three-inch 

 band " of the Isle of Thanet ; and, like that band too, it preserves its 

 peculiar characteristics undeviatingly up to the moment when it 

 leaves the cliff, at St. Margaret's Bay. Now on dropping the eye, in 

 its progress along the cliffs beginning at Old Stairs Bay, to a depth 

 of about 30 feet below the band in question, there will be seen a rich 

 band of flint, with "columns " arising from it at irregular intervals, 

 precisely in the same manner as may be seen at the North Foreland. 

 And thus these two lines of flint serve to identify each other at the 

 two localities in a very remarkable manner ; and I think there can 



