and their Relation to the Glacial Epoch. 43 



The course of the ancient silted-up channel cannot yet be defined. 

 Loam with Palaeolithic implements occupies a belt extending for 

 about a mile south of Hitchin. It has been extensively worked at 

 various times between Windmill Hill and Maydencroft Lane. Accord- 

 ing to Mr. Hill, implements have also been found on Thistly Farm, 

 half a mile further south. The only pits now worked are those 

 known as " Ransom's " and " Jeeves'." 



The underlying river alluvium is entirely overlapped and hidden 

 by the Palaeolithic brickearth, and is only to be seen where the 

 brickearth has been dug away. It is found in Ransom's and Jeeves' 

 brickyards, and we have now discovered it, half a mile to the S.S.W., 

 in two borings on Maydencroft Farm. It apparently occupies a 

 narrow belt in the middle of the old valley. The greatest depth of 

 this valley could not be proved, owing to the running sand and 

 gravel, which made boring so difficult. The bottom lies at least as 

 low as the level of the existing valleys of the Hiz and Pur well, for 

 five different borings were abandoned at about that level, without 

 having reached chalk. The trend of the buried channel seems to be 

 from south to north, in this following the general slope of the ground 

 .and running parallel to the course of the existing streams. 



Work was commenced last November in Ransom's brickyard, one 

 boring being put down at the east corner and another at the south 

 end. The section at the east corner showed 30 feet of Palaeolithic 

 loam, resting on 25 feet of carbonaceous loam with freshwater shells, 

 below which came 12 feet of loamy sand and gravel of doubtful age 

 - — perhaps glacial, perhaps later. At the south end BH 2 showed — 



Feet, 



f Brickearth with small scattered stones and occasional 



Palaeolithic implements, bedding obscure and irregular 30 

 Bedded brickearth with seams of sand (should be 



to 



ps <J searched for Arctic plants ; compare Bed C at Hoxne) 



White marly sand with freshwater shells and fish 



teeth 1 to 3i 



^Gravelly brickearth 2 J to 



Feet. 



Sandy loamy gravel 9 



Brickearth 2j 



Loamy gravelly sand, full, of water 6 



| <; Blue clay and chalk "1 Bage q{ ^ bou , der ^ m f 3 

 3 Blue coarse loamy sand V reconstrncted bonlder i ay i ] 

 Blue hard chalky loam J LI 

 [ Sandy gravel and water 3 



CD 

 O 



Other borings in Jeeves' Yard and near Maydencroft Farm yielded 



