444 Evans — On Cavities in Old River Gravel, 



From Mr. Fiteh's account it appears that at Santon Downham and 

 Broom Hill, two of the places where gravel is dug between Thet- 

 ford and Brandon, holes or excavations occur in the beds of gravel 

 at about ten feet from the surface. The beds of gravel in the im- 

 mediate neighbourhood of these cavities are said to be disturbed, so 

 that the workmen know when they are approaching them, and the 

 implements were said by the workmen to be found lying at the bot- 

 tom of these holes. 



Mr. Fitch had an opportunity of seeing one of these cavities opened 

 in the pit near Santon Downham. It was large enough to allow him 

 to stand inside, a layer of dark clay lined the bottom of the hole, 

 and this formed a basin-shaped floor. Its roof was beautifully 

 rounded and smooth, and had all the appearance of design, and on 

 excavating at the bottom, a flint implement of a Palaeolithic type was 

 found. 



The workmen maintained that there was little chance of finding 

 implements, unless when working near, or in similar holes, of 

 which some fifteen have been found within a limited space. 



Mr. Fitch, while contenting himself with stating bare facts, and 

 without trusting himself to any theory, could not but say that the 

 appearances presented were exceedingly suggestive. He adds that 

 *' one cannot help thinking that it looks very much like a colony, 

 and if these holes are of human handiwork, it must bring the age of 

 the flint implements considerably nearer to the Historic epoch than 

 has been usually attributed to them, for the excavation of the holes 

 must necessarily be of later date than the gravel beds in which they 

 occur. 



" Elsewhere, as at Brixham, Torquay, and other localities in 

 England and on the continent, caves in the solid rocks have yielded 

 implements, and the occurrence of wrought holes in the hard gravels 

 indicate a similarity of habit as regards the choice of dwelling-places, 

 for we must allow that even these primitive men needed shelter from 

 the inclement climate of that distant period. 



" It seems to me, that if we are to discover human bones at all, 

 these caves are the likeliest spots to look for them. 



" At Broom Hill, bones are frequently found in the made earth or 

 ' trail,' but not in the underlying gravels. 



" The caves have had some communication one with another, for 

 we are safe in presuming that wherever man lived, he was always a 

 gregarious or social being." 



Like many others, I was of course much interested in this report, 

 though I could not regard the question in the same light as those 

 who had personally witnessed the phenomena. I at once wrote to 

 Mr. Fitch, suggesting a possible cause for the existence of such cavi- 

 ties, and requesting him to give me notice of the next occasion on 

 which one of them was found capable of examination. 



In the meantime, my friend, Mr. J. W. Flower, came down to 

 Norwich, and on his way back to London, he stopped at Brandon, 

 and found that in the Broom Hill pit, about a mile and a half from 

 Brandon station, the workmen had come across one of these cavities, 



