138 Slieppnrd : The Making of East Yorkshire. 



knowledg-e. It was obviously built before the introduction of 

 metal. The piles had been roughly pointed, partly by burning- 

 and partly by the aid of stone implements. In association with 

 it objects of bone and stone only were met with. Upon this 

 lower structure a dwelling occupied by the Bronze-Age Britons 

 was built ; the stakes had been pointed by sharp metal imple- 

 ments, and a spear head of bronze found on the upper platform 

 indicated the period at which it had been erected. The earlier 

 occupants of the district undoubtedly lived here at the time the 

 animals already enumerated, and possibly also the Irish Elk 

 and Bison occupied the same area. 



In addition to tilling the land and growing corn, these early 

 inhabitants had a certain influence upon the present aspect of 

 the surface of the land by the earthern structures they erected. 

 At Skipsea Brough, and also at the so-called Danes' Dyke, 

 earthworks of such magnitude were built for protective purposes 

 as to almost appear to the uninitiated to be natural mounds. 



The Wolds also are cut into and traversed in all directions 

 by a series of earthworks and dykes, and are dotted over the 

 surface with barrows or burial mounds containing the remains 

 of former chiefs. 



This subject, however, is too large to enter into in detail 

 now, but the traces left behind by the Britons are sufficient from 

 their magnitude to be referred to in a paper dealing with the 

 origin of the present appearance of East Yorkshire. 



To summarise, it has been my endeavour to show that 

 almost every feature of East Yorkshire can be accounted for as 

 a result of the survival of the fittest of hard rocks, as compared 

 with softer ones ; as a result of deposits formed by wind or 

 water or ice, or by some agent such as we are familiar with at 

 the present day. Almost the entire history of the district can be 

 unravelled by means of the experience obtained from examining 

 modern physical forces and their effects. It is not necessary 

 to call in the aid of any great cataclysms or universal deluges 

 or anything of the kind to explain the features of the dis- 

 trict. The hills and dales and their origin have already been 

 touched upon. The reasons the rivers do not always keep to 

 the channels they orig"inally cut has been explained. The 

 prominences such as the Peak, Filey Brig, Flamborough Head, 

 etc., exist on account of their comparative hardness. The 

 reasons for the bays of Holderness, Filey Ba}', Robin Hood's 

 Bay, etc., have been pointed out. These are some of the 

 principal features ; examined in detail, however, one finds that 



Naturalist, 



