﻿290 
  PEOP. 
  J. 
  PKESTWICH 
  ON 
  THE 
  OCCURRENCE 
  OF 
  

  

  Still 
  more 
  remarkable 
  is 
  the 
  Punish 
  site, 
  also 
  on 
  the 
  " 
  red-clay- 
  

   with-flints 
  ; 
  " 
  but 
  as 
  only 
  one 
  rude 
  flake 
  has 
  yet 
  been 
  found 
  there, 
  

   this 
  find 
  requires 
  confirmation. 
  This 
  specimen 
  was 
  found 
  by 
  Mr. 
  

   Crawshay 
  at 
  the 
  contour-line 
  of 
  600 
  ft., 
  while 
  the 
  height 
  of 
  the 
  

   Leybourne 
  stream 
  just 
  below 
  the 
  escarpment 
  is 
  only 
  50 
  ft. 
  above 
  

   O.I)., 
  and 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  river-terrace 
  about 
  80 
  to 
  100 
  ft. 
  higher. 
  

  

  A 
  few 
  implements 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  character 
  as 
  those 
  of 
  Ash 
  

   have, 
  as 
  before 
  mentioned, 
  been 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  old 
  river- 
  and 
  other 
  

   drifts 
  of 
  Ightham. 
  Several, 
  for 
  example, 
  were 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  gravelly 
  

   loam 
  cut 
  through 
  by 
  the 
  railway 
  at 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  Fane 
  hill, 
  and 
  in 
  

   other 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  Shode 
  valley 
  ; 
  these 
  abnormal 
  specimens 
  are, 
  I 
  

   think, 
  probably 
  derived 
  from 
  this 
  higher 
  chalk-plateau 
  drift. 
  

  

  If 
  we 
  may 
  speculate 
  with 
  the 
  imperfect 
  data 
  before 
  us 
  upon 
  the 
  

   sequence 
  of 
  events, 
  we 
  find 
  certain 
  landmarks 
  fairly 
  well 
  defined, 
  while 
  

   the 
  relation 
  between 
  them 
  is 
  yet 
  involved 
  in 
  much 
  obscurity. 
  That 
  

   the 
  drift-gravels 
  in 
  the 
  Shode 
  valley 
  up 
  to 
  a 
  height 
  of 
  340 
  ft. 
  above 
  

   O.D. 
  at 
  Ightham, 
  and 
  of 
  about 
  260 
  ft. 
  lower 
  down 
  the 
  valley 
  at 
  Ship- 
  

   borne, 
  may 
  be 
  referred 
  to 
  the 
  ordinary 
  valley-gravels 
  of 
  Postglacial 
  

   age, 
  there 
  can 
  be 
  little 
  doubt. 
  It 
  is 
  also 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  loess 
  is 
  

   the 
  deposit 
  from 
  flood-waters, 
  though 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  of 
  different 
  dates. 
  

   Some 
  of 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  referred 
  to 
  the 
  Medway 
  when 
  it 
  flowed 
  at 
  its 
  higher 
  

   levels, 
  which 
  Mr. 
  Topley 
  has 
  shown 
  to 
  be 
  253 
  ft. 
  at 
  Starvecrow, 
  

   near 
  Tunbridge, 
  and 
  not 
  less 
  than 
  330 
  ft. 
  lower 
  down 
  the 
  valley 
  

   nearer 
  to 
  Maidstone 
  *. 
  This 
  latter 
  is 
  the 
  highest 
  level 
  at 
  which 
  he 
  

   records 
  the 
  Medway 
  river-gravels 
  f, 
  and 
  its 
  flood-waters 
  could 
  

   hardly 
  have 
  reached 
  very 
  much 
  higher. 
  How, 
  then, 
  are 
  we 
  to 
  

   account 
  for 
  drift 
  deposits 
  at 
  the 
  height 
  of 
  550 
  ft. 
  and 
  more 
  ? 
  

  

  From 
  the 
  circumstance 
  that 
  the 
  " 
  river-drifts," 
  connected 
  with 
  

   the 
  early 
  regime 
  of 
  the 
  Darent, 
  the 
  Shode, 
  and 
  the 
  Medway, 
  do 
  not 
  

   in 
  any 
  case 
  exceed 
  from 
  300 
  to 
  340 
  ft. 
  in 
  height 
  above 
  the 
  sea-level, 
  

   and 
  for 
  other 
  reasons 
  before 
  named, 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  seem 
  possible 
  to 
  

   connect 
  the 
  isolated 
  mounds 
  of 
  coarse 
  gravel 
  capping 
  the 
  hill 
  at 
  

   Highlands 
  (388 
  ft.), 
  at 
  Belmont 
  (420 
  ft.), 
  and 
  the 
  flint-drift 
  at 
  Bitchet 
  

   (530 
  ft.) 
  and 
  other 
  places, 
  with 
  the 
  action 
  of 
  these 
  rivers 
  since 
  they 
  

   have 
  flowed 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  valley-channels. 
  Whether 
  or 
  not 
  those 
  

   high 
  mounds 
  of 
  drift-gravel 
  were 
  connected 
  with 
  some 
  form 
  of 
  glacial 
  

   action 
  before 
  the 
  excavation 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  valley-systems 
  of 
  the 
  

   Shode, 
  I 
  am 
  not 
  prepared 
  to 
  say, 
  but 
  I 
  think 
  it 
  not 
  improbable. 
  

   The 
  effect, 
  from 
  whatever 
  cause, 
  has 
  been 
  to 
  carry 
  the 
  flints 
  of 
  

   the 
  chalk, 
  the 
  flint 
  pebbles 
  of 
  the 
  Tertiary 
  beds, 
  and 
  the 
  stained 
  

   flint-drift 
  of 
  the 
  Ash 
  plain 
  from 
  off 
  the 
  chalk 
  hills 
  on 
  to 
  hills 
  

   several 
  miles 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  escarpment. 
  

  

  The 
  " 
  white 
  flint-drift 
  " 
  lying 
  on 
  the 
  Gault 
  in 
  many 
  places 
  at 
  the 
  

   foot 
  of 
  the 
  Downs, 
  and 
  of 
  which 
  a 
  patch, 
  before 
  described, 
  remains 
  

   on 
  the 
  watershed 
  between 
  the 
  Shode 
  and 
  the 
  Leybourne 
  stream, 
  

  

  * 
  ' 
  G-eology 
  of 
  the 
  Weald,' 
  pp. 
  178, 
  185. 
  In 
  the 
  scanty 
  patch 
  of 
  drift 
  at 
  

   the 
  latter 
  place 
  Mr. 
  Topley 
  found 
  a 
  small 
  flake, 
  which 
  has 
  all 
  the 
  appearance 
  

   of 
  being 
  of 
  palaeolithic 
  age. 
  

  

  f 
  This, 
  however, 
  may 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  hill-gravels. 
  

  

  