536 EXCURSION TO AND .

Shooter's Hill, and the Essex hills, all capped with drifts con­ taining Lower Greensand chert. From a spur below Whitegate Cottage (where a modern " dew pond" was noted) an excellent view was obtained of the Maplescombe Valley with its many tributary valleys. Through a " wind-gap" at the head of the main valley the "Greensand ridge" in the neighbourhood of Knole Park was clearly seen. The significance of this "wind-gap" was remarked on by the Directors, who regard it as part of the valley of an old dip-stream flowing from the south along the line of the present Maplescornbe Valley before the excavation of the Holmesdale Valley. Time would not permit more than a hurried examination of the upper part of Maplescornbe Valley. The walk was continued towards Cotman's Ash and over the crest of the Downs. In a deep "coombe" in the escarpment a well-marked terrace was indicated. Traces of others were noted lower down the coombe, and three parallel terraces were crossed as the party descended the escarpment to Kemsing. The Directors regard these as "cultivation terraces" (lynchets), and this view was supported by several members of the party. After tea at the Bell Inn, Kemsing, a vote of thanks to the Directors was moved by the President, and they were asked to express the thanks of the Association to Mr. F. Sugden and Sir Mark Collett (through Mr. F. Capper) for permission to walk through their properties. REFERENCES. 1886. SPURRELL, F. C. J.-" History of the Rivers and Denudation of West Kent," Rep. W. Kent Nat. Hist. Soc. 1889. Geo!. Survey, r-in, scale, Old Series, No.6. 1903. Geol. Survey Map (Drift Edition), London, Sheet 4, S.E. 190 5. Ord. Survey, r-in , Kent, 271, 287. 19°7· BENNETT, F. ].-" Ightham," in the "Homeland" Series.

EXCURSION TO AVEBURY AND WINTERBOURNE BASSETT. SATURDAY, JULY 4TH, 1908. Director: REV. H. G. O. KENDALL. Excursion Secretary : MARK ~WILKS.

(Report by THE DIRECTOR.) A PARTY of eight left Paddington by the 9.35 for Marlborough, where they were joined by four others. Marlborough College was first visited, and the fine proportions of the Chapel as well as the architecture of C. House, with its oak carving, were duly admired. "The Mound" is similar to and to the mound at Oxford. All three were possibly, or probably, EXCURSION TO AVEBURY AND WINTERBOURNE BASSETT. 537

burial places in the first instance. It is true that Silbury Hill has been opened and no human interment discovered, but it should be remembered that at the times when the diggings were carried on the skill and experience which are now applied to finding the burial were not forthcoming. A three mile walk along the high road, parallel with the River Kennet, brought the party to Fyfield. Just before entering the village some large sarsens in the steep roadside were examined. This bank supports a terrace. The opinion has been hazarded that the stones were placed in the bank by prehistoric man. The Director pointed out that these stones are rounded at the edges and not apparently chipped. A little farther on a magnificent, mortarless wall of large sarsens, chipped and squared, was examined. This modern wall was compared with the seemingly older one previously seen. The importance of other items on the programme prevented the members paying much attention to the small Chalk pit east of Fyfield, A thin layer of tabular flint runs right across the section. Specimens of sarsen with rootlet holes and also others containing flint pebbles were obtained from stones which had been brought to the pit. A few hundred yards farther on the party left the high road and entered the Valley of Stones at Piggle Dean. A plot of a few acres in extent in the bottom of this dry side valley has been bought for the public. Above this plot, however, the members of the excursion witnessed the destruction of the sarsens actually going on, especially on the hillside west of the narrow valley; thus the evidence of the sarsens having once lain on the lower hillsides is being destroyed here, but fortunately exists at other spots. On the Warren, a little to the north, the sarsens are scattered over the ground in the bottom of another dry valley up the slope and on top of the down or hill. Farther along the hill to the north are some ploughed fields (on Hackpen Hill), at 885 ft. O.D. or less, one of which, near" Glory Ann" Barn, is said by the late Rev. A. C. Smith to have been the" fountain head" of the sarsen stones; and, indeed, a glance at the large Ordnance Map would seem to show Mr. Smith to have been right. The stones crowd up to this very spot, and are only (on the map) cut short by the boundaries of the ploughed fields. These fields show red and yellow clay in places, and patches of drift from which the Director has taken Palseoliths, all stained ochreous or brown or greenish (mostly the two latter), together with" Eoliths " or merely edge-trimmed tools, apparently of no greater age. The Palseoliths themselves seem to be of different periods. Whilst the party was in Piggle Dean the question of the former extent of the sarsens was discussed, and the Director pointed out that the stones lie thick in West Woods, on the other side of the river Kennet. 538 EXCURSION TO AVEilURY AND WINTERBOURNE BASSETT.

A Neolithic (Bronze Age, or later Romano-British P) flake was picked up in Piggle Dean. One of the party pointed out some (marks of) soft patches of stone within the fractured sarsens, as though a subsequent infilling of a little channel in the stone had taken place. At Down Barn, farther up the dry valley, the party was brought face to face with some very marked terracing which ran in various directions. At the foot of one low terrace was a remarkably regular row of sarsens. A discussion took place as to the origin of these terraces, but on reaching higher ground, whence a more general view of them was obtained, it was agreed by all that they were the work of man. A beautiful piece of Down was then crossed, the lower and southern continuation of Hackpen Hill. Above on the right, to the north were knolls with bushes and heather, showing the site of Tertiary outliers, etc. To the south, at right angles with Hackpen, lay the great range of southern hills running up to nearly 1,000 ft. O.D. From the top of Martinsell, at 940 ft. the Director had obtained a flaked stone, identified by Mr. Worthington Smith as of Palseolithic age. The country was described as typical Chalk country. Dropping down the low escarpment into Avebury, the excavations dug by the British Association and the remaining stones of the circles were examined. In the former Mr. Gray went down I7 ft. from the present bottom to the original one. He found various levels with pottery, the oldest and lowest being either early Bronze or pure Neolithic, dating Avebury as I700 B.C. (date of Stone­ ) or earlier. Avebury consisted of a huge trench and ramp outside it, and two double concentric circles of large, unhewn sarsens, which again were both surrounded by an outer circle just within the trench. Many of the stones have been destroyed in quite recent times. One, and probably two avenues of Sarsens led away from the place, one to a small circle near 'Vest Kennel. The party drove up the (here) north and south valley of the Kennet-a mere ditch above Avebury, where it takes a right angle turn-past the Neolithic (probably Bronze and British) site of Windmill Hill. Undulating country lies between the river and Hackpen Hill, also to the west of the former. Here the Director has found Eoliths and a few flaked stones (of Palzeolithic nature) at levels from 520 ft. to 600 ft. On arriving at Winterbourne Bassett the Director gave a short account of his large collection of flint implements, etc., drawing attention especially to ft. I, Eoliths and Palreoliths (the latter as old as the former) from Hatfield, Herts, Lea Valley. about 210 2. Ditto, from Hackpen Hill. . . • 875 3. Ditto from Winterbourne Bassett . 550 to 60:J V I~ IT TO T HE FRANCO-BRITISH EXHIBITION. 539

4. Palreolith s from Knowle Farm Pit, especially one lot dug out of one large hole. some found in :,tu by himself. S. Palreolit hs and EoJiths side by side, and exactly resembling each other in many cases and in different types, as regards edge-trimming and general outline. Mr. E. P. Ridley, in proposing a vote of thanks to the Director, noted that he (the Director) avoided the word Eolithic, and substituted" early Palseolithic." The part y took tea in the village school, and glanced at a fallen in Wint erbourne parish, and at the Lower Chalk cutting on Clyffe Hill ell route for Wootton Bassett station, whence they returned to London by the 8.2 train.

RE FERENCES. Ord, Survey Map, r-inch, No . 266. Geo!. Survey Map, Old Ser ies, Shee ts 34 and 14. Geo!. Index Map, Sheet 11. IgOr. HARRISON, W. J EROME.- "A Bibliography of St onehenge and Avebury."-Wilts. A rch. and Nat. Hist. Mag.• vol. xxxii, p. 1. (There is a separat e copy in the Library of the Geological Society.) I g06. "Investigations at Kn owle Farm Pit."-Man (Anthropological In stitute), N o. 26.

VISIT TO THE PALiEONT OLOGI CAL EXHIBIT IN THE SCIENCE HALL, FRANCO-BRITISH EXHIBITION.

M ONDAY, J UL Y 6 TH, 1908.

Direaor : F. A. BATH E R, M.A., D.S c. (Report by TH E DIRECTOR .) AT six p.m. more than fifty memb ers met in a temp orary enclosure round the division of Geology in the Science Hall. After welcoming them, and expressing his thanks to the exhibitors, so me of whom had kindly come to an swer ques tions relating to their own portions of the exhibi t, Dr. Bather passed through the Exhibit illustrating Mod ern Meth ods of Palseontological Research from beginning to end. H ere it is only possible to give the briefest abstract of his remarks, but those interested are referred to the list of books and papers at the end of this report (PP 546, 547)· This is not an exhibit of fossils, even of rare fossils, or of specimens with a purely scientific int erest. It is intend ed to show modern methods emp loyed in the study of fossils, especially those followed in this country. It is arranged under four head-