﻿PALAEOLITHIC 
  FLINT 
  IMPLEMENTS 
  IN 
  KENT. 
  295 
  

  

  were, 
  however, 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  points 
  on 
  which 
  he 
  ventured 
  to 
  differ 
  

   from 
  his 
  old 
  master. 
  He 
  alluded 
  to 
  the 
  enormous 
  amount 
  of 
  change 
  

   which 
  had 
  affected 
  the 
  ancient 
  land-surface 
  since 
  the 
  implements 
  

   were 
  formed. 
  At 
  that 
  time 
  the 
  chalk-escarpment 
  was 
  further 
  

   south. 
  There 
  must 
  then, 
  also, 
  have 
  probably 
  been 
  a 
  greater 
  rain- 
  

   fall, 
  which 
  entirely 
  altered 
  the 
  conditions 
  in 
  a 
  district 
  occupied 
  by 
  

   such 
  porous 
  rocks. 
  If 
  the 
  east 
  and 
  west 
  valley 
  were 
  filled 
  up 
  to 
  

   the 
  extent 
  of 
  200-300 
  feet, 
  there 
  would 
  even 
  now 
  be 
  streams 
  run- 
  

   ning 
  from 
  the 
  north 
  where 
  there 
  are 
  dry 
  valleys. 
  He 
  believed 
  

   that 
  at 
  an 
  early 
  period 
  the 
  gap 
  through 
  which 
  the 
  Darent 
  flowed 
  

   north 
  did 
  not 
  exist, 
  but 
  that 
  water 
  ran 
  through 
  the 
  east 
  and 
  west 
  

   valley. 
  

  

  The 
  change 
  of 
  drainage 
  could 
  readily 
  be 
  accounted 
  for 
  if 
  we 
  ac- 
  

   cepted 
  the 
  proposition 
  that 
  a 
  river 
  in 
  excavating 
  its 
  valley 
  might 
  

   intersect 
  the 
  source 
  of 
  another 
  stream. 
  If 
  all 
  this 
  were 
  accepted, 
  

   we 
  might 
  in 
  a 
  great 
  number 
  of 
  cases 
  associate 
  the 
  high-level 
  drifts 
  

   with 
  nuviatile 
  action. 
  In 
  what 
  Mr. 
  Alfred 
  Tylor 
  had 
  called 
  the 
  

   "pluvial 
  period," 
  a 
  considerable 
  number 
  of 
  sheets 
  of 
  water 
  or 
  lakes 
  

   might 
  also 
  have 
  been 
  formed. 
  He 
  admitted 
  the 
  difficulty 
  of 
  associ- 
  

   ating 
  the 
  deposits 
  with 
  any 
  existing 
  water 
  course. 
  On 
  the 
  chalk- 
  

   downs 
  the 
  red 
  clay 
  was 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  atmospheric 
  denudation. 
  

   Regarding 
  the 
  Currie-Wood 
  drift, 
  which 
  he 
  had 
  described, 
  he 
  still 
  

   believed 
  that 
  it 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  formed 
  by 
  a 
  stream 
  running 
  north- 
  

   ward. 
  He 
  agreed 
  in 
  the 
  main 
  with 
  the 
  Author's 
  views, 
  but 
  did 
  

   not 
  accept 
  the 
  classification 
  of 
  the 
  implements 
  into 
  three 
  types, 
  

   except 
  in 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  they 
  were 
  affected 
  by 
  the 
  matrix. 
  In 
  general 
  

   form 
  the 
  facies 
  of 
  those 
  from 
  Ash 
  reminded 
  him 
  of 
  a 
  small 
  col- 
  

   lection 
  from 
  the 
  gravel 
  of 
  Reading, 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  Thames, 
  from 
  which 
  

   the 
  good 
  specimens, 
  if 
  any, 
  had 
  been 
  removed. 
  Mr. 
  Bell's 
  discoveries 
  

   near 
  Limpsfield 
  were 
  also 
  of 
  great 
  interest. 
  When 
  called 
  upon 
  to 
  

   correlate 
  these 
  Kentish 
  beds 
  with 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  Glacial 
  period, 
  he 
  

   could 
  not 
  go 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  Author. 
  He 
  was 
  glad 
  to 
  hear 
  that 
  Prof. 
  

   Prestwich 
  had 
  more 
  papers 
  to 
  bring 
  forward, 
  and 
  till 
  then 
  he 
  

   would 
  suspend 
  his 
  judgment 
  as 
  to 
  chronology 
  ; 
  as 
  regards 
  closing 
  up 
  

   time, 
  he 
  thought 
  the 
  Author 
  had 
  used 
  some 
  very 
  doubtful 
  expres- 
  

   sions. 
  When 
  we 
  find 
  valleys 
  over 
  a 
  mile 
  wide 
  and 
  120 
  feet 
  deep, 
  

   as 
  at 
  Caversham, 
  and 
  traces 
  of 
  old 
  river-valleys 
  on 
  the 
  site 
  of 
  the 
  

   present 
  Solent, 
  all 
  cut 
  out 
  since 
  palaeolithic 
  times, 
  even 
  allowing 
  for 
  

   an 
  excessive 
  power 
  in 
  the 
  denuding 
  agents, 
  the 
  subsequent 
  changes 
  

   must 
  have 
  occupied 
  an 
  enormous 
  lapse 
  of 
  time. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Topley 
  said 
  that 
  Dr. 
  Evans 
  had 
  well 
  expressed 
  the 
  obli- 
  

   gations 
  which 
  the 
  Society 
  were 
  under 
  to 
  local 
  observers. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  area 
  described 
  they 
  had 
  evidence 
  of 
  the 
  extreme 
  antiquity 
  

   of 
  certain 
  deposits, 
  as 
  shown 
  by 
  the 
  geological 
  evidence. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Somme 
  area 
  the 
  gravels 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  actual 
  valley, 
  and 
  the 
  

   general 
  explanation 
  of 
  their 
  formation 
  — 
  the 
  gradual 
  excavation 
  of 
  

   the 
  valley, 
  and 
  the 
  greater 
  antiquity 
  of 
  the 
  higher 
  terraces 
  — 
  was 
  

   sometimes 
  disputed 
  ; 
  but 
  at 
  Ightham 
  it 
  was 
  impossible 
  to 
  bring 
  for- 
  

   ward 
  the 
  ordinary 
  objection, 
  for 
  gravels 
  capped 
  the 
  tops 
  of 
  the 
  water- 
  

   sheds. 
  As 
  regards 
  the 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  patches 
  of 
  gravel 
  at 
  Penenden 
  

  

  