40 Mr. 0. Reid. The Paleolithic Bejiosits at Hitchin 



Society, which lead us to hope that "borings, to be shortly undertaken 

 for economic purposes, may, either with or without aid from this 

 Society, supply the means of reaching greater depths than that 

 attained at Zagazig, and possibly of reaching the old floor of solid 

 rocks on which the Sub-delta deposits rest. 



" The Palaeolithic Deposits at Hitchin and their Relation to the 

 Glacial Epoch." By Clement Reid, F.L.S., F.G.S., of 

 the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom. Commu- 

 nicated by Sir Archibald Geikie, F.R.S. Received 

 February 15 —Read March 4, 1897. 



Certain excavations and borings at Hoxne, undertaken in the 

 year 1896 at the cost of the British Association and of the Royal 

 Society, threw much light on the relation of Palaeolithic man to the 

 Glacial Epoch. It was thought advisable therefore to examine the 

 similar deposits at Hitchin, to ascertain to what extent the conclu- 

 sions already arrived at were supported by exploration at a fresh 

 locality. It was desired also to see whether a new locality would aid 

 us in restoring pages in the geological history missing in the Hoxne 

 record. At the instance of Sir Archibald Geikie, a grant of £50 was 

 made by the Council of the Royal Society towards the cost of the 

 necessary excavations, borings, and incidental expenses, unavoidable 

 if the inquiry was to be carried out satisfactorily. Of this sum, 

 only about £30 has been expended, for, after reaching a certain stage 

 with good results, it was discovered that any further advance meant 

 a far greater expenditure of time and money than seemed justified. 

 Work was therefore stopped as soon as the main point under dispute 

 had been cleared up, and a sufficient series of fossil plants had been 

 obtained to determine the climatic conditions that held while the 

 ancient alluvial strata were being deposited. 



It is perhaps scarcely necessary under the circumstances to do more 

 than allude to the results of previous work. Palaeolithic implements 

 have long been known from Hitchin, and their position in and at the 

 base of a stony brickearth was well ascertained. It was also known 

 that this brickearth rested on loam and shell marl, with fresh-water 

 mollusca and mammalian remains. All this had been made perfectly 

 clear, principally by the researches of Prestwich, Sir John Evans, 

 Mr. W. Ransom, and Mr. William Hill. The most important of the 

 doubtful points were the relations of these ancient alluvia to the wide- 

 spread sheet of chalky boulder clay, and to the valleys of the existing 

 streams. 



In the prosecution of these supplementary researches I have been 

 greatly aided by the local assistance freely rendered by Mr. William 



