1872.] LANE FOX PALEOLITHIC IMPLEMENTS. 453 



the steep slope whicli marks the boundary of the valley near Wands- 

 worth and Battersea Kise*. It is seen along the valleys of all the 

 tributary streams, which correspond in this respect with those on the 

 north side of the river. This general description of the valley-gravels 

 will, I trust, enable the reader to appreciate the position of the imple- 

 ment-bearing gravels under consideration. 



My examination of the gravels in this district commenced in the 

 year 1869, and has continued almost uninterruptedly ever since. A 

 notice of the discovery of drift implements was communicated to the 

 Meeting of the British Association at Exeter in that year. Several 

 brick-pits were examined in the mid-terrace between Wormwood 

 Scrubs, Shepherd's Bush, and Hammersmith ; and the workmen had 

 the appearance of flint flakes and implements explained to them by 

 showing them specimens from other localities ; rewards were also 

 ofifered, to induce them to preserve any similar implements they 

 might find during the excavations ; but nothing of the sort was 

 found in any of these pits. The brick-earth here lies from 10 to 12 

 feet thick upon the gravel ; and, with a few exceptions, the cuttings 

 did not extend lower than the brick-earth. 



Passing westward along the Uxbridge road, I found that some 

 excavations were being made for the foundations of houses in the 

 high-terrace gravel in Churchfield, east of the village of Acton. The 

 lay of the ground in this place corresponded so closely with that of the 

 implement-bearing gravels of the Somme and the Ouse, that I deter- 

 mined to watch the diggings closely, and repeated my visits to this spot 

 almost every day for some months. Reference to the section across 

 the Thames valley from Acton to Richmond Park (fig. 5, p. 459), will 

 show the position of this patch of gravel, resting upon the London Clay, 

 a strip of which, as already mentioned, comes to the surface on the slope 

 of the hill, dividing the high- from the mid-terrace gravelf. Near 

 this strip of clay the superincumbent gravel does not exceed 6 and 

 7 feet, and it is much contorted. Seams of sand may be seen to turn 

 up nearly on end, a good example of which was seen in Section A, in 

 Arthur Terrace, on the line of the 60-feet level. Higher up it 

 increases to 10 and 13 feet thick, as was shown in Section G, in Lome 

 Terrace, between the 80- and 90-feet lines ; and to the westward, in 

 Home Lane, it was found in cutting for a sewer to be 18 feet thick. 

 As a rule, the sections at the higher levels show the lay of the 

 various seams of gravel and sand to be more even than in those parts 

 wMch adjoin the outcrop of the clay, the seams thinning out gradu- 

 ally and horizontally in various directions. Between the 80- and 

 90-feet lines it was also noticed that in some places the gravel was 

 overlain by a deposit of brick-earth, which passed down gradually and 

 imperceptibly into fine sand. This was the case in Section P, in Chaucer 



* Since writing this, Mr. Wbi taker has informed me that he has traced it 

 along this line. — A. L. F. 



t This strip of clay is not marked in the recently published Greological Map, 

 Sheet 7, but it is correctly given in Mr. Mylne's Map. I ascertained its ex- 

 istence by cuttings for sewers made in the lane to the eastward of the railway, 

 and also in Grove Road ; it consists of clay, with occasional irregularly shaped 

 holes on the surface, filled with gravel. 



