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diff --git a/43597.txt b/43597.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ebc897e..0000000 --- a/43597.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1919 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Notes on the Fenland, by -T. McKenny Huges and Alexander MacAlister - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Notes on the Fenland - with A Description of the Shippea Man - -Author: T. McKenny Huges - Alexander MacAlister - -Release Date: August 29, 2013 [EBook #43597] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NOTES ON THE FENLAND *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note: Minor typographical errors have been corrected -without note. Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have -been retained as printed. Words printed in italics are noted with -underscores: _italics_. - - - - -Notes on the Fenland - -by -T. McKENNY HUGHES, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S., F.S.A. -Woodwardian Professor of Geology - -with - -A Description of the Shippea Man - -by -ALEXANDER MACALISTER, M.A., F.R.S., M.D., Sc.D. -Professor of Anatomy - - -Cambridge: -at the University Press -1916 - -CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS -C. F. CLAY, MANAGER -London: FETTER LANE, E.C. -Edinburgh: 100 PRINCES STREET - -New York: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS -Bombay, Calcutta and Madras: MACMILLAN AND Co., Ltd. -Toronto: J. M. DENT AND SONS, Ltd. -Tokyo: THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA - -_All rights reserved_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - -GEOGRAPHY OF THE FENLAND 1 - -SUBSIDENCE OF THE VALLEY OF THE CAM 2 - -TURBIFEROUS AND ARENIFEROUS SERIES 3 - -ABSENCE OF ELEPHANT AND RHINOCEROS IN TURBIFEROUS SERIES 6 - -ABSENCE OF PEAT IN ARENIFEROUS SERIES 6 - -FEN BEDS NOT ALL PEAT 7 - -SECTIONS IN ALLUVIUM 7 - -PEAT; TREES ETC.: TARN AND HILL PEAT; SPONGY PEAT AND -FLOATING ISLANDS; BOG-OAK AND BOG-IRON 13 - -MARL: SHELL MARL AND PRECIPITATED MARL 17 - -THE WASH: COCKLE BEDS (Heacham): BUTTERY CLAY (Littleport) 18 - -LITTLEPORT DISTRICT 18 - -BUTTERY CLAY 19 - -THE AGE OF THE FEN BEDS 20 - -PALAEONTOLOGY OF FENS 20 - -BIRDS 25 - -MAN 27 - -DESCRIPTION OF THE SHIPPEA MAN BY PROF. A. MACALISTER 30 - - - - -GEOGRAPHY OF THE FENLAND. - - -The Fenland is a buried basin behind a breached barrier. It is the -"drowned" lower end of a valley system in which glacial, marine, -estuarine, fluviatile, and subaerial deposits have gradually -accumulated, while the area has been intermittently depressed until -much of the Fenland is now many feet below high water in the adjoining -seas. - -The history of the denudation which produced the large geographical -features upon which the character of the Fenland depends needs no long -discussion, as there are numerous other districts where different -stages of the same action can be observed. - -In the Weald for instance where the Darent and the Medway once ran off -higher ground over the chalk to the north, cutting down their channels -through what became the North Downs, as the more rapidly denuded beds -on the south of the barrier were being lowered. The character of the -basin is less clear in this case because it is cut off by the sea on -the east, but the cutting down of the gorges _pari passu_ with the -denudation of the hinterland can be well seen. - -The Thames near Oxford began to run in its present course when the land -was high enough to let the river flow eastward over the outcrops of -Oolitic limestones which, by the denudation of the clay lands on the -west, by and by stood out as ridges through which the river still holds -its course to the sea--the lowering of the clay lands on the west -having to wait for the deepening of the gorges through the limestone -ridges. A submergence which would allow the sea to ebb and flow through -these widening gaps would produce conditions there similar to those of -our fenlands. So also the Witham and the Till kept on lowering their -basin in the Lias and Trias, while their united waters cut down the -gorge near Lincoln through a barrier now 250 feet high. - -The basin of the Humber gives us an example of a more advanced stage in -the process. The river once found its way to the sea at a much higher -level over the outcrops of Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks west of Hull, -cutting down and widening the opening, while the Yorkshire Ouse, with -the Aire, the Calder and other tributaries, were levelling the New Red -Sandstone plain and valleys west of the barrier and tapping more and -more of the water from the uplands beyond. The equivalent of the Wash -is not seen behind the barrier in the estuary of the Humber, but the -tidal water runs far up the river and produces the fertile estuarine -silt known as the Warp. - -The Fenland is only an example of a still further stage in this -process. The Great Ouse and its tributaries kept on levelling the Gault -and Kimmeridge and Oxford Clays at the back of the chalk barrier which -once crossed the Wash between Hunstanton and Skegness. - -The lowlands thus formed lie in the basin of the Great Ouse which -includes the Fenland, while the Fenland includes more than the Fens -properly defined, so that things recorded as found in the Fenland may -be much older than the Fen deposits. - - - - -SUBSIDENCE OF THE VALLEY OF THE CAM. - - -During the slow denudation which resulted in the formation of this -basin many things happened. There were intermittent and probably -irregular movements of elevation and depression. Glacial conditions -supervened and passed away. - -The proof of this may be seen in the Sections, Figs. 1, 2 and 3, pp. 8, -9 and 10. - -At Sutton Bridge the alluvium has been proved to a depth of 73 feet -resting on Boulder Clay. At Impington the Boulder Clay runs down to a -depth of 86 feet below the surface level of the alluvium. That means -that this part of the valley was scooped out before the glacial -deposits were dropped in it, and that the bottom of the ancient valley -is now far below sea level. - -In front of Jesus College, gravel with _Elephas primigenius_ was -excavated down to a depth of 30 feet below the street, while in the -Paddocks behind Trinity College the still more recent alluvium was -proved to a depth of 45 feet, i.e. 16 feet below O.D. These facts -indicate a comparatively recent subsidence along the valley, as no -river could scoop out its bed below sea level. - -We need not for our present purpose stop to enquire whether this -depression was confined to the line of the valley or was part of more -widespread East Anglian movements which are not so easy to detect on -the higher ground. From the above-mentioned sections it is clear that -the denudation, which resulted in the formation of the basin in the -lowest hollow of which the Fen Beds lie, was a slow process begun and -carried on long before glacial conditions prevailed and before the -gravel terraces were formed. - -As soon as the sea began to ebb and flow through the opening in the -barrier, the conditions were greatly altered and we see the results of -the conflict between the mud-carrying upland waters and the -beach-forming sea. - - - - -TURBIFEROUS AND ARENIFEROUS SERIES. - - -The Fen Beds belong to the last stage and, notwithstanding their great -local differences, seem all to belong to one continuous series. Seeing -then that their chief characteristic is that they commonly contain -beds of peat it may be convenient to form a word from the late Latin -_turba_, turf or peat, and call them Turbiferous to distinguish them -from the Areniferous series which consists almost entirely of sands -and gravels. - -When the land had sunk so far that the velocity of the streams was -checked over the widening estuary and on the other hand the tide and -wind waves had more free access, some outfalls got choked and others -opened; turbid water sometimes spread over the flats and left mud or -was elsewhere filtered through rank plant growth so that it stood clear -in meres and swamps, allowing the formation of peat unmixed with earthy -sediment. - -Banks are naturally formed along the margin of rivers by the settling -down of sand and mud when the waters overflow, as seen on a large scale -along the Mississippi, the Po, as well as along the Humber and its -tributaries. - -The effect of a break down of the banks is very different. A great hole -is scooped out by the outrush, and the mud, sand and gravel deposited -in a fanshape according to its degree of coarseness and specific -gravity. - -A good example of this was seen in the disastrous Mid-Level flood at -Lynn in 1862[1] and the more recent outburst near Denver in the winter -of 1914-15[2], of which accounts were published in contemporary -newspapers. The varied accompanying phenomena can be well studied in -the process of warping in Yorkshire or the colmata in Italy. - - [1] _Times_, _Cambridge Chronicle_, May 31, 1862. - - [2] _Times_, Jan. 16, 1915. - -This was a much commoner catastrophe in old times, before the banks -were artificially raised, and, as the streams could never get back into -their old raised channel, this accounts for the network of ancient -river beds which intersect the Fens. - -The bottom of the Turbiferous alluvium is always, as far as my -experience goes, sharply defined. This of course cannot be seen in a -borehole or very small section. - -The surface of the older deposits seems to have been often washed clean -either by the encroaching sea or by the upland flood waters. - -In saying that there is an absence of sand and gravel in the Fen Beds -we must be careful not to force this description too far. For when the -first encroaching water was washing away any pre-existing superficial -deposits the first material left as the base of the Fen Beds must have -depended upon the character of the underlying strata, the velocity of -the water and other circumstances. - -This is well seen in the Whittlesea brickpit where an ancient gravel -with marine shells rests on the Oxford Clay and over the gravel there -creeps the base of the Turbiferous series. It here consists chiefly of -white marl which thins out to the left of the section and above becomes -full of vegetable matter until it passes up into peat, over which there -is a flood-water loam. - -About a mile west-north-west of Little Downham near Ely, and within a -couple of hundred yards of Hythe, the Fen Beds were seen in a deep cut -carried close to the gravel hill which here stretches out north into -the Fens. - -They consist at the base of material washed down from the spur of -gravel and sand of the Areniferous series against which the Fen Beds -here abut. - -This basement bed is succeeded by beds of silt and peat of no great -thickness as they are near the margin of the swamp. - -When any considerable thickness of the older Areniferous gravels has -been preserved, the base of the Turbiferous series is smooth or only -gently undulating. But where only small patches or pot-holes of gravel -remain, there the top of the clay has been contorted and over-folded so -as often to contain irregularly curved pipes and even isolated nests of -sand and gravel[3]. The base of the Areniferous gravel must generally -have been thrown down upon clay which had been clean cut to an even -surface by denudation without any soaking of the surface or isolated -heaps of gravel sinking into the clay under alternation of dry and wet -conditions, such as would puddle the surface under the heaps and allow -the masses of heavy gravel to sink in pipes and troughs. These small -outlying patches of gravel are sometimes so little disturbed that we -leave them in the Areniferous, whereas they are sometimes so obviously -rearranged that we must include them in the Turbiferous series, taking -care not to include derivative bones from the older in our list of -fossils from the newer series. - - [3] Cf. _Archaeol. Journ._ Vol. LXIX, No. 274 2nd Ser.; Vol. - XIX, No. 2, pp. 205-214. - - - - -ABSENCE OF ELEPHANT AND RHINOCEROS IN TURBIFEROUS SERIES. - - -The basement beds of the Turbiferous or Newer Alluvial Fen Beds are -clearly separated by their stratification from the Areniferous or Older -Alluvial Terrace Beds down the sloping margin of which they creep, but -there is not anywhere, as far as I am aware, any passage or dovetailing -of the Fen Beds into the gravel of the river terraces, while the -difference in the fauna is very marked. - -It is however from such sections as those just described that the -erroneous view arose that the Elephant and Rhinoceros occurred in the -older Fen Beds. It is true that they have been found under peat in the -Fenland, but that is only where the gravel spurs of the Old Alluvial -Terraces or Areniferous Series have passed under the newer Fen Beds. - -I saw the remains of _Rhinoceros tichorhinus_ in the gravel beds -belonging to the older or Areniferous Series at Little Downham, and -from the base of the gravel in the Whittlesea brickpit I obtained a -fine lower molar of _Elephas antiquus_. This was, however, not in -the Gravel, but squeezed into the soft surface of the underlying -Jurassic Clay. - -There have never been any remains of Elephant or Rhinoceros found in -the Turbiferous series. - - - - -ABSENCE OF PEAT IN ARENIFEROUS SERIES. - - -It is not easy to realise what the conditions were during the formation -of the later Terrace Gravels (Barnwell type), and, if it is a fact, why -there was not then, as in later times, a marshy peat-bearing area here -and there between the torrential deposits of the upper streams near the -foot of the hills and the region where the tide met the upland waters. -A few plants have been found in the Barnwell gravel but they are very -rare in this series. The older Terrace Gravel (Barrington type) might -be expected to furnish evidence of the existence of abundant vegetation -if we are right in assigning it to about the age of the peaty deposits -overlying the Weybourn Crag. But at present we have no evidence of any -such deposit in the Cambridge gravels. - -Although there are great masses of vegetable matter formed in the -swamps of tropical regions, peat is essentially a product of northern -climes. Pliny[4] evidently refers to peat as used in Friesland but not -as a thing with which he was familiar. - - [4] Lib. XVI, cap. 1. - - - - -FEN BEDS NOT ALL PEAT. - - -It must not, however, be imagined that the Fen Beds consist wholly or -even chiefly of peat. As we travel north from Cambridge the surface of -the alluvium is brown earth for miles and only here and there shows the -black surface of peat. The numerous ditches for draining the land -confirm this observation, and when we have the opportunity of examining -excavations carried down to great depths into the alluvium we usually -find only a little peat on the surface or in thin beds alternating with -silt and clay and marl. Sometimes, but only sometimes, we have evidence -of the growth of peat for a long time, then of the incoming of turbid -water leaving beds of clay, then again of the tranquil growth of peat. -All this points to changes of local conditions and shifting channels -during a gradual sinking of the area, for some of the peat is below sea -level. - -I believe that the volume of clay is much greater than that of peat, -although from the common occurrence of peat on the surface and clay in -the depth the area over which peat is seen is greater. We have not, -however, the data for estimating the proportion of each. - -In embayed corners along the river even above Cambridge we find little -patches of peat, while on the other hand in deep excavations near the -middle of the valley we find only thin streaks of peat or peaty silt. -In the trial boreholes at the Backs of the Colleges there was only this -kind of record of former swamp vegetation. - - - - -SECTIONS IN ALLUVIUM. - - -In digging the foundations for the chimney of the Electric Lighting -Works opposite Magdalene College the following section was seen (Fig. -1, p. 8). - -Under the new Tennis Courts in Park Parade facing Mid-summer Common the -section was somewhat different (Fig. 2, p. 9). - -While in the pit dug some years ago by Mr Bullock at the other end of -the Parade at the lower end of Portugal Place in the south-east corner -of the Common there was a section very similar to the last (Fig. 3, p. -10). - - +------ - | Made ground - | - | 7'-8' - | - +------ - | Black silt - | - | 7'-8' - | - +------ - | 4' Peaty silt - | - +------ - | 4' Gravel - | - +------ - | Gault - | - -[Illustration: Fig. 1. Section seen in foundations of chimney for -Electric Lighting Works near river opposite Magdalene College, July, -1892.] - -These three sections, immediately north of Cambridge where the valley -of the Cam opens out on to the Fens, are important as showing the -variations right across the alluvium from side to side and the absence, -here at any rate, of any indication of a constant sequence distinctly -pointing to important geographical changes. A section seen under -Pembroke College Boat House gave 16 feet of clay and peaty silt on the -black gravel which here, as in the borings at the Backs of the -Colleges, forms the base of the alluvium. About half way down were -bones of horse and stag, but I do not believe that these are of any -great antiquity, probably not earlier than mediaeval. - - Thickness Depth - - +------ - | Irregular made ground - | - 5 | Clayey - | - | Alluvium - 5 +------ - | - 4 | Peat - | - 9 +------ - | - | - | - | - | - 10-12 | Sand and Gravel - | - | - | - | - | - 21 +------ - 2 | - +------ Gravel - 2 | - 25 +------ - | - 4'6" | Running Sand - | - 29' 6" +------ Gault - | - - _Scale_ 8' to 1" - -[Illustration: Fig. 2. Section seen in digging foundations of Tennis -Courts on Midsummer Common, Cambridge.] - -Lower down the river near Ely a most important and interesting section -has recently been exposed. A new bridge was built over the Ouse near -the railway station and to obtain material for easing the gradient up -to the bridge a pit was sunk close to it on the east side of the river, -and was carried down to the Kimmeridge Clay thus giving a clear section -through the whole of the alluvium (Fig. 4, p. 11). - - Depth - - | - _a_ | - | - +------ 4' - | - _b_ | - +------ 7' - | - _c_ | - +------ 10' - _d_ | - +------ 12' 6" - _e_ | - +------ 13' 2" - | - | - | - _f_ | - | - | - | - +------ 21' 2" - _g_ | - +------ 23' 2" - _h_ | - | - - _a._ Dark clay, with much carbonaceous matter, scattered - stones, and freshwater shells 4' 0" - _b._ Tough clay 3' 0" - _c._ Dark clay full of bits of wood 3' 0" - _d._ Light coloured clay full of rootlets 2' 6" - _e._ Rusty sand 8" - _f._ False bedded gravel and sand pierced by rootlets 8' 0" - _g._ Black silt and gravel 2' 0" - ------ - _h._ Gault 23' 2" - ====== - -[Illustration: Fig. 3. Section seen in Bullock's Pit in S.E. corner of -Midsummer Common.] - -It will be noticed that there is very little peat here and all of it -was below O.D. The upper four feet of the clayey peat (_f_) looked as -if the vegetable matter had been transported, perhaps from peat beds -being destroyed by the river higher up, and been carried down in flood -with the clay, while the lower four feet of peat (_h_) was only a -cleaner sample of the same, before the river had cut down into the -clay. The trees in both _f_ and _h_ were not trees that had grown on -the spot and had been blown down, but were broken, water-worn, and -evidently transported. - - _a_ +----------------- - _b_ +----------------- - _c_ +----------------- - _d_ +----------------- - _e_ +----------------- - | - _f_ |................. _g_ - | - +----------------- - | - _h_ | - | - +----------(1)---- - _i_ | - +----------------- - | - _j_ | - | - +----------(2)---- - - _a._ Surface soil 7" - _b._ Clayey alluvium 7" - _c._ Peaty alluvium 9" - _d._ Brown clayey alluvium 1' 6" - _e._ Peaty alluvium. 9" - _f._ Brown clayey peat with trees scattered throughout - _g._ and lenticular beds of freshwater shells in it 4' - _h._ Peat with trees to 2' diam. 4' - _i._ Mottled green and grey clay with lines of sand and - gravel giving out water 2' - _j._ Yellow clay with springs and much rusty water - at bottom. 4' - ------ - 18' 2" - ====== - (1) Skull and a few other bones of horse. - (2) Broken fragments of bone. - - _Scale_ 8' to 1" - -[Illustration: Fig. 4. Section seen in pit dug for material for making -up the roadway east of the new bridge over the Ouse by the railway -station. Ely, 1910.] - -If now we travel about 30 miles a little west of north we shall arrive -near the shore of the Wash about half way across its southern coast -line at Sutton Bridge. Here I had an opportunity of seeing the material -of which the alluvium is composed. With a view to securing a sound base -for the foundation of the piers of the Midland and Great Northern -Railway bridge an excavation was made through the whole of the Fen Beds -down to the Boulder Clay which as I have already stated was reached at -a depth of 73 feet. The clerk of the works kindly gave me the following -measurements (Fig. 5). - - Depth Thickness - - +---------- High water (12' 6" above O.D.) - | - 12' 6" | - 12' 6" +---------- Ordnance Datum - 4' 0" | Silt and clay - 16' 6" +---------- - {| - {+---------- Low water (6' 0" below O.D.) - {| - {| - 19' 6"{| - {| - {| - {+---------- Bed of river (17' 6" below O.D.) - {| - 36' 0" +---------- - | - | - | - 9' 0" | Sand with shells - | - | - | - 45' 0" +---------- - 3' 6" | Loam and sand - 48' 6" +---------- - | - 5' 6" | Ballast with shells - | - 54' 0" +---------- - 3' 6" | Loam with Peat - 57' 6" +---------- - 3' 6" | Fine red ballast - | mixed with clay - 61' 0" +---------- - 5' 0" | Blue and grey clay - | mixed with sand - 66' 0" +---------- - 1' 0" | Ballast - 67' 0" +---------- - | - 4' 6" | Silty Sand - 71' 6" +---------- - | Ballast with flint - 1' 6" | and stone - 73' 0" +---------- - | - | - | Stiff grey clay - | - | - -[Illustration: Fig. 5. Section seen at Sutton Bridge.] - -Here again we see that the only peat is a bed between three and four -feet in thickness of mixed loam and peat more than 40 feet below mean -sea level. - -From these sections it is clear that along the direct and more -permanent outfall from Cambridge to the north, peat forms but a small -part of the Fen Beds. - -Peat is a substance of so much value as fuel, of such importance to the -agriculturist, of such commercial value in what we may call its -by-products, and of such scientific interest in the history of its -formation and the remains which its antiseptic properties have -preserved, that it has, as might be expected, a large literature of its -own. - -I have before me a list of more than 150 references to peat or to the -Fens. - - - - -PEAT; TREES AND OTHER PLANTS; TARN PEAT AND HILL PEAT; BOG-OAK AND -BOG-IRON. - - -When we turn aside into the areas cut off by spurs of gravel and -islands of Jurassic rock, we find wide and deep masses of peat which -has grown and been preserved from denudation in these embayed and -isolated areas. Burwell Fen, for instance, protected on the north and -west by the Cretaceous ridge of Wicken and the Jurassic ridge of -Upware, furnishes most of the peat used in the surrounding district. If -we travel about two miles to the north-west from the pit dug near the -railway station (see Fig. 4, p. 11) over the hill on which Ely stands, -we shall come to West Fen, where there is a great mass of peat which -has grown in a basin now almost quite surrounded by Kimmeridge Clay. -In this there is a great quantity of timber at a small depth from the -surface. The tree trunks almost all lie with their root-end to the -south-west, but some are broken off, some are uprooted, telling -clearly a story of growth on the peat which had increased and swelled -till the surface was lifted above the level of floods. Then some -change--perhaps more rapid subsidence, perhaps changes in the -outfalls--let in flood water, the roots rotted and a storm from the -south-west, which was the most exposed side and the direction of the -prevalent winds, laid them low. The frequent occurrence of large -funguses, _Hypoxylon_, _Polyporus_, etc., points to conditions at -times unfavourable to the healthy growth of timber. - -It is worth noting when trying to read the story of the Fens as -recorded by their fallen trees that in all forests we find now and then -a few trees blown down together though the surrounding trees are left. -This may be the result of a fierce eddy in the cycloidal path of the -storm, but more commonly it seems to be due to the fact that every tree -has its "play," like a fishing rod, and recurring gusts, not coinciding -with its rhythm, sometimes catch it at a disadvantage and break or blow -it down. - -The story told by the West Fen trees is quite different from that told -by the water-borne and water-worn trunks in the section by Ely station. - -The same variable conditions prevailed also in the more westerly tracts -of the Fen Basin, but the above examples are sufficient for our present -purpose. - -From the large numbers of trees found in some localities and from -records referring to parts of the Fens as _forest_ it has sometimes -been supposed that the Fens were well wooded, but forest did not -generally and does not now always mean a wood, as for example in the -case of the deer forests of Scotland. - -When Ingulph[5] says that portions of the Fenland were disafforested by -Henry I, Stephen, Henry II, and Richard, who gave permission to build -upon the marshes, this probably meant that they no longer preserved -them so strictly, but allowed people to build on the gravel banks and -islands in them. - - [5] _History of Croyland_, Bohn's edition, p. 282. - -Dugdale, recording a stricter enforcement of game-laws, quotes -proceedings against certain persons in Whittlesea, Thorney and Ramsey -for having "wasted all the fen of Kynges-delfe of the alders, hassacks -and rushes so that the King's deer could not harbour there." He does -not mention forest trees. - -In the growth and accidents of vegetation in a swamp there are some -circumstances which are of importance to note with a view to the -interpretation of the results observed in the Fens. - -For instance in fine weather there is a constant lifting and floating -of the confervoid algae which grow on the muddy bed of the stream. This -is brought about by the development of gas under the sun's influence in -the thick fibrous growth of the alga. The little bubbles give it a -silvery gleam and by and by produce sufficient buoyancy in the mass to -tear it out and make it rise to the surface dropping fine mud as it -goes and thus making the water turbid. Other plants, such as -Utricularia, Duckweed, etc., have their period of flotation, and in the -"Breaking of the Mere" in Shropshire we have a similar phenomenon. In -the "Floating Island" on Derwentwater the same sort of thing is seen -with coarser plants. All these processes are going on in the meres and -in the streams which meander through the Fens and did so more freely -before their reclamation. But besides this, when the top of the spongy -peat is raised above the water level and dries by evaporation, then -heath, ferns and other plants and at last trees grow on it, until -accident submerges it all again. - -This at once shows why we often find an upper peat with a different -group of plant remains resting upon a lower peat with plants that grow -under water. - -The most conspicuous examples of these various kinds of peat we see in -the mountainous regions of the North and West, where the highest hills -are often capped with peat from eight to ten feet in thickness, -creeping over the brow and hanging on the steep mountain sides. -Sometimes, close by, we see the gradual growth of peat from the margin -of a tarn where only water-weeds can flourish. - -The "Hill Peat" is made up of Sphagnum and other mosses and of ferns -and heather. - -The "Tarn Peat" of conferva, potamogeton, reeds, etc. - -As Hill Peat now grows on the heights and steeps where no water can -stand and Tarn Peat in lakes and ponds lying in the hollows of the -mountains and moors, so the changes in the outfalls and the swelling -and sinking of the peat have given us in the Fens, here the results of -a dry surface with its heather and ferns and trees, and there products -of water-weeds only, and, from the nature of the case, the subaerial -growth is apt to be above the subaqueous. - -One explanation of the growth of peat under both of these two very -different geographical conditions is probably the absence of -earthworms. The work of the earthworm is to drag down and destroy -decaying vegetable matter and to cast the mineral soil on to the -surface, but earthworms cannot live in water or in waterlogged land, -and where there are no earthworms the decaying vegetation accumulates -in layer after layer upon the surface, modified only by newer growths. -Some years ago a great flood kept the land along the Bin Brook under -water for several days and the earthworms were all killed, covering the -paddock in front of St John's New Buildings in such numbers that when -they began to decompose it was quite disagreeable to walk that way. It -reminded me of the effects of storm on the cocklebeds at the mouth of -the Medway, where the shells were washed out of the mud, the animals -died on the shore and the empty shells were in time washed round the -coast of Sheppey to the sheltered corner at Shellness. Here they lie -some ten feet deep and are dug to furnish the material for London -pathways. - -In those cases when the storm had passed the earthworms and the cockles -came again, but the Hill Peat is always full of water retained by the -spongy Sphagnum and similar plants, and the Fens are or were -continually, and in some places continuously, submerged and no -earthworms could live under such conditions. - -The blackness of peat and of bog-oak may be largely but certainly not -wholly due to carbonaceous matter. Iron must play an important part. -There is in the Sedgwick Museum part of the trunk of a Sussex oak which -had grown over some iron railings and extended some eight inches or -more beyond the outside of the part which was originally driven in to -hold the rails. Mr Kett came upon the buried iron when sawing up the -tree in his works and kindly gave it to me. From the iron a deep black -stain has travelled with the sap along the grain, as if the iron of the -rail and the tannin of the oak had combined to produce an ink. The -well-known occurrence of bog-iron in peat strengthens this suggestion. -An opportunity of observing this enveloping growth of wood round iron -railings is offered in front of No. 1, Benet Place, Lensfield Road. - -The trees in the Fens often lie at a small depth and when exposed to -surface changes perish by splitting along the medullary rays. - -It is not clear how long it takes to impart a peaty stain to bone, but -we do find a difference between those which are undoubtedly very old -and others which we have reason to believe may be more recent. Compare -the almost black bones of the beaver, for instance, with the light -brown bones of the otter in the two mounted skeletons in the Sedgwick -Museum. - - - - -MARL. - - -"Marl," as commonly used, is Clay or Carbonate of Lime of a clayey -texture or any mixture of these. - -Beds of shell marl tell the same tale as the peat. Shells do not -accumulate to any extent in the bed of a river. They are pounded up and -decomposed or rolled along and buried where mud or gravel finds a -resting place. Only sometimes, where things of small specific gravity -are gathered in holes and embayed corners, a layer of freshwater shells -may be seen. - -But to produce a bed of pure shell marl the quantity of dead shells -must be very large and the amount of sediment carried over the area -very small, while the margin of the pond or mere in which the formation -of such a bed is possible must have an abundant growth of confervoid -algae and other water plants to furnish sustenance for the molluscs. -Shell marl therefore suggests ponds and meres. Of course it must be -borne in mind that in a region of hard water, such as is yielded in -springs all along the outcrop of the chalk, there is often a -considerable precipitation of carbonate of lime, especially where such -plants as Chara help to collect it, as the Callothrix and Leptothrix -help to throw down the Geyserite. - -These beds of white marls, whether due to shells or to precipitation, -are thus of great importance for our present enquiry as they throw -light on the history of the Fens. - -We should have few opportunities of examining the marl were it not for -its value to the agriculturist. As it consists of clay and lime, it is -not only a useful fertiliser but also helps to retain the dusty peat, -which when dry and pulverised is easily blown away. Moreover, as the -marl occurs at a small depth and often over large areas, it can -commonly be obtained by trenching on the ground where it is most -wanted. - - - - -THE WASH. - - -We have now carried our examination of the Fen Beds up to the sea, but -to understand this interesting area we must cross the sea bank and see -what is happening in the Wash. There is no peat being formed there, nor -is there any quantity of drifted vegetable matter such as might form -peat. There are marginal forest beds near Hunstanton and Holme, for -instance, and it is not clear whether they point to submergence or to -the former existence of sand dunes or shingle beaches sufficient to -keep out the sea and allow the growth of trees below high water level -behind the barrier, such as may be seen at Braunton Burrows, near -Westward Ho, or at the mouth of the Somme. What is the most conspicuous -character of the Wash is that the upland waters, now controlled as to -their outlet, keep open the troughs and deeps while tidal action throws -up a number of shifting banks of mud, sand and gravel, many of which -are left dry at low water. Along the quieter marginal portions fine -sediment is laid down, and relaid when storms have disturbed the -surface. On these cockles and other estuarine molluscs thrive. Before -the sea banks were constructed these tidal flats extended much further -inland. - - - - -LITTLEPORT DISTRICT. - - -In the light of this evidence let us examine the Fen Beds east of -Littleport, a district of great interest not only from its geographical -position in relation to the Fens but also from the remains recently -discovered there. - -Looking north and west there is no high ground between us and the Wash. -If we could sweep out the soft superficial deposits and abolish the sea -banks the tide would still ebb and flow over the whole area. - -If we look north and east we see the high ground stretching from -Downham Market to Stoke Ferry and sweeping round to the south by -Methwold and Feltwell and the islands of Hilgay and Southery, thus -enclosing a great bay into which the Wissey on the north and the -Brandon River on the south deliver the waters collected on the eastern -chalk uplands. - -The island known as Shippea Hill marks the trend of an ancient barrier -blocking the northward course of the river Lark. (Fig. 6, p. 29.) - -Here, then, it seems probable that we might find evidence of a local -change from the conditions we now see in the Wash and those which have -resulted in the formation of the Fens. - - - - -BUTTERY CLAY. - - -In deep trenching in the Fen between Littleport and Shippea Hill in -order to obtain clay for laying on the peaty surface a very fine -unctuous deposit was found at a depth of four or five feet. The -overlying Fen Beds were chiefly peat with lenticular beds of white marl -and grey clay, obviously laid down from time to time in small -depressions in the surface of the peat. This marl was often largely -made up of, or was at any rate full of, freshwater shells but sometimes -showed evidence of having been gathered on the stems of Chara which on -perishing have left small cylindrical hollows penetrating the partly -consolidated marl. Under these beds of peat and marl there was the -unctuous clay, which is sometimes referred to as the Buttery Clay. It -is an estuarine deposit like that mentioned above as occurring in the -Wash off Heacham, for instance. It contains shells of _Cardium edule_, -_Tellina_ (_Tacoma_) _balthica_, _Scrobicularia piperata_, and other -estuarine shells, some of which had the valves adherent or rather -adjoining, for the ligament had perished. Mrs Luddington has in her -collection the bones of the Urus, Wild Boar and Beaver, obtained from -the peat above this Buttery Clay. - -On the other or south-western side of Shippea Hill, which is an island -of Kimmeridge Clay, we get further into the embayed and isolated -portions of the Fen and we find more peat in proportion to the other -deposits although it is very thin. There are still small lenticular -beds of white marl similar to that nearer Littleport and the peat rests -upon Buttery Clay of unknown thickness. In this part, however, no -shells have yet been noticed. Near Shippea Hill the peat has recently -been trenched with a view to obtaining clay with which to dress the -surface of the peat and it was here, at a depth of four feet from the -surface and four inches above the Buttery Clay, that the human bones -described below (pp. 27-35) were found. - - - - -THE AGE OF THE FEN BEDS. - - -Now we may enquire what are the limits within which we may speculate as -to the age of the Fen Beds. - -These Turbiferous deposits all belong to one stage, though it may be -one of long duration. They are sharply separated from the Areniferous -deposits, i.e. the sands and gravels of the terraces and spurs which -always pass under and, in fairly large sections, can always be clearly -distinguished from the resorted layers at the base of the Fen Beds. - -There is no definite chronological succession which will hold -throughout the Fens. The variations observed are geographical--clay, -marl, peat, etc., alternating in different order in different -localities and subaerial, fluviatile, estuarine, and marine, having -only a changing topographical significance. - -The Fen Beds crept over an area where the underlying formation had been -undergoing vicissitudes due to slow geographical changes--changes -which, being at sea level and near the conflict of tides and upland -water, produced irregular but often important results. - -There is not in the Fens any _continuous_ record of what took place -between the age in which the Little Downham Rhinoceros was buried in -the gravel and that in which the Neolithic hunters poleaxed the Urus -in the peat near Burwell. - - - - -PALAEONTOLOGY OF FENS. - - -Nor do we find any constant succession in the fauna and flora in the -sections in the Fens any more than we find a uniform distribution of -plants and animals over the surface to-day. The most numerous and -largest specimens of the Urus I have obtained from near Isleham: the -best preserved Beaver bones from Burwell. Modern changes of conditions -have limited the district in which the fen fern (_Thelypteris_) or -the swallow-tailed butterfly may now be seen; but nature in old times -produced as great changes in local conditions as those now due to human -agency. - -When we compare the fauna of the Areniferous Series with that of the -Turbiferous, although there is not an entire sweeping away of the older -vertebrate and invertebrate forms of life and an introduction of newer, -there is a marked change in the whole facies. - -There is plenty of evidence about Cambridge of the gradual -extermination of species still going on. Indeed, I feel inclined to say -that there is no such thing as a Holocene age. I remember land shells -being common of which it is difficult now to find live specimens, and -my wife[6] has shown how the mollusca are being differentiated in -isolated ponds left here and there along the ancient river courses -above the town. - - [6] "On the Mollusca of the Pleistocene Gravels in the - neighbourhood of Cambridge," by Mrs McKenny Hughes. _Geol. - Mag._ Decade 3, Vol. V, No. 5, May 1888, p. 193. - -But we have not in older beds of the Turbiferous or newer beds of the -Areniferous Series any suggestion of continuity between the two. There -must have been between them an unrepresented period of considerable -duration in which very important changes were brought about. Perhaps it -was then that England became an island and unsuitable for most of the -life of the Areniferous age. - -Not only have we in the Turbiferous as compared with the Areniferous -Series a change of facies but we have many "representative forms," a -point to which that keen naturalist, Edward Forbes, always attached -great importance. - -We have for instance in the Fen Beds the Brown Bear (_Ursus arctos_) -with his flat pig-like skull, instead of the Grizzly (_Ursus ferox_) -of the Gravels with his broad skull and _front bombe_. - -If we turn to the horned cattle we shall find a confirmation of the -view that there was not an entire break between the Turbiferous and -Areniferous fauna for the Urus (_Bos primigenius_) occurs in both. -This species became extinct in Britain in the Turbiferous period and -before the coming of the Romans, for no trace of it seems to have been -found with Roman remains in this country; and indeed when we remember -the numerous tribes, the dense population and high civilisation of the -natives of Britain in Roman times it seems improbable that they can -have tolerated such a formidable beast as this wild bull around their -cultivated land. - -Some confusion has arisen as to the description and the names of -the Urus and the Bison. Caesar, who was not a big game hunter and -probably never saw either, has given under the name Urus a description -which evidently mixes up the characters of both. Both existed on the -continent down to quite recent times and the Bison is still found -in Poland, but later writers also have evidently confounded them. -For instance, the Augsburg picture of the Urus is correct, but -Herberstein's, which also is said to represent the Urus, is obviously -that of a Bison. I have gone into this question more fully -elsewhere[7]. - - [7] "The Evolution of the British Breeds of Cattle," _Journ. - R. Agric. Soc._ Vol. V, Ser. 3, pp. 561-563, 1894. "On the - more important Breeds of Cattle which have been recognised in - the British Isles in successive periods, and their relation - to other archaeological and historical discoveries," - _Archaeologia_, Vol. V, Ser. 3, pp. 125-158, 1896. Cf. also - Morse, E. W., "The Ancestry of domesticated Cattle," - _Twenty-seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Animal - Industry_, 1910, Department of Agriculture, U.S.A. - -The Urus (_Bos primigenius_) is common in the Fen Beds and is of -special importance for our present enquiry, as there is in the Sedgwick -Museum a skull of this species found in Burwell Fen with a Neolithic -flint implement sticking in it. The implement is thin, nearly parallel -sided, rough dressed, except on the front edge which is ground, and it -is made of the black south-country flint. It is very different in every -respect from the thick bulging implements with curved outlines, which -being made of the mottled grey north-country flint or of felstone or -greenstone suggest importation from a different and probably more -northerly source. - -This gives us a useful synchronism of peat, a Neolithic implement of a -special well-marked type, and the Urus. - -The Bison is the characteristic ox of the Gravels and never occurs in -the Fen Beds; while the Urus, as I have pointed out above, occurs in -both the Turbiferous and Areniferous deposits. - -_Bos longifrons_ is the characteristic ox of the Fen Beds and never -occurs in the Gravels. It is the breed which the Romans found here, -and we dig up its bones almost wherever we find Roman remains. I -cannot adduce any satisfactory evidence that it was wild, that is to -say more wild than the Welsh cattle or ponies or sheep which roam -freely over wide tracts of almost uninhabited country. This species, -like the Urus, has horns pointing forward, but the cattle introduced -by the Romans had upturned lyre-shaped horns, as in the modern -Italian, the Chillingham or our typical uncrossed Ayrshire breed, and -soon we notice the effect of crossing the small native cattle (_Bos -longifrons_) with the larger Roman breed. - -The Horse appears to have lived continuously throughout Pleistocene -times down to the present day and to have been always used for food. -Unfortunately the skull of a horse is thin and fragile and therefore it -has been difficult to obtain a series sufficiently complete to found -any considerable generalisations upon it. The animal found in the peat -and alluvium appears to have been a small sized, long faced pony. - -The appearances and reappearances of the different kinds of deer is a -very interesting question, but it will be more easily treated when I -come to speak of the Gravels of East Anglia. I will only point out now -that neither of the deer with palmated antlers properly belongs to the -Turbiferous series. The great Irish Elk (_Cervus megacerus_) has not -been found in the Fen Beds. Indeed it is not clear that in Ireland it -occurs in the peat. The most careful and trustworthy descriptions seem -to show that its bones lie either in or on top of the clays on which -the peat grew. - -The other and smaller deer with palmated antlers, namely, the Fallow -deer (_Cervus dama_), were reintroduced, probably by the Romans, and -although some of them have got buried in the alluvium or newer peat in -the course of the 1500 years or so that they have been hunted in royal -warrens in East Anglia, they cannot be regarded as indigenous or -indicative of climate or other local conditions. - -Remains of the Red deer (_Cervus elaphus_) and of the Roe deer -(_Cervus capreolus_) are common in the Fen Beds; both occur in the -Gravels also; and both are still wild in the British Isles. Unlike the -Red deer, which lives on the open moorland, the Roe deer lives in -woods and forests. And this is an interesting fact in its bearing upon -our inferences as to the character of the country before the -reclamation of the Fens and the destruction of the plateau forest. The -open downs and the spurs and islands of the fenlands offered the Red -deer a congenial feeding ground, while the thickets on the edge of the -upland forest and the bosky patches along the margins of the lowland -swamps provided covert for the Roe deer. Sheep and goat are found in -the peat and the alluvium, but it is not easy to tell the age of the -bones. They do generally appear to be of that lighter brown colour -which is characteristic of remains from newer peat as compared with -the black bones which seem to belong to the older and more decomposed -peat. The sheep is probably a late introduction and is never found in -the Terrace Gravel (see _Geol. Mag._ Decade 2, Vol. X, No. 10, p. -454). - -The Wild Boar (_Sus scrofa_) is fairly common. - -It is remarkable that we get very few remains of Wolf, although it is -not much more than 200 years since the last was killed. There is in the -Sedgwick Museum one fairly complete skeleton, found a long time ago in -Burwell Fen and I have recently obtained another from the same -locality. There do not seem to be any obvious and constant characters -by which we can distinguish a wolf from a dog, and Britain was -celebrated for its large and fierce dogs. The bones of the Eskimo dogs -are very wolf-like, but they are frequently crossed with wolf. - -Perhaps the most interesting animal whose remains are found in the Fens -is the Beaver. Why do we not find here and there a beaver dam? Perhaps -it is because we have not been on the look-out for it, and the -peat-cutters would not have seen anything remarkable in the occurrence -of a quantity of timber anywhere in the Fens. We must suppose that the -peat which often contains whole forests of trees and even canoes would -have preserved the timber of the beaver dam. It is an animal too which -might have contributed largely towards the formation of the Fens by -holding up and diverting meandering streams. Perhaps it did not make -dams down in the Fens, and the skeletons we find are those of stray -individuals or of dead animals which have floated down from dams near -Trumpington or Chesterford; very suitable places for them. We want more -evidence about the fen beaver. - -I have heard that there are beavers in the Danube which do not make -dams, but among those introduced into this country in recent years the -dam building instinct seems to have survived the change. The beavers on -the Marquis of Bute's property in Scotland cut down trees and built -dams as did the beavers in Sir Edmund Loder's park in Sussex, and even -in the Zoological Gardens they recently constructed a "lodge." We have -not found the beaver in the Gravels. - -Part of the skull of a Walrus was brought to us a long time ago and -said to have been found in the peat. But it is a very suspicious case. -It does not look like a bone that had been long entombed in peat, and -we are not so far from the coast as to make it improbable that it was -carried there by some sailor returning home from northern seas. - -Bones of Cetaceans are thrown up on the shore near Hunstanton, and -Seals are still not uncommon in the Wash, so that we need not attach -much importance to the occurrence in marine silt of Whale, Grampus, -Porpoise, and such like. - - - - -BIRDS. - - -We have paid much attention to the birds of the Fens, partly because of -the occurrence of some unexpected species, and also because of the -absence, so far as our collection goes, of species of which we should -expect to find large numbers. - -Perhaps the most interesting are the remains of Pelican (_P. crispus_ -or _onocrotalus_)[8]. Of this we have two bones, not associated nor -in the same state of preservation. The determination we have on the -authority of Alphonse Milne Edwards and Professor Alfred Newton. One -of the bones is that of a bird so young that it cannot have flown over -but shows that it must have been hatched or carried here. - - [8] _Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Zool._ (5), Vol. VIII, - Pl. 14, pp. 285-293. _Ibis_, 1868, pp. 363-370, _Proc. Zool. - Soc._ 1868, p. 2. _Trans. Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists - Soc._ Vol. VII, Pt. 2, 1901. _Geol. Mag._ No. 447, N.S. Dec. - 4, Vol. VIII, No. 9, p. 422. - -Of the Crane (_Grus cinerea_) we have a great number of bones but of -the common Heron not one. I have placed a recent skeleton of heron in -the case to help us to look out for and determine any that may turn -up. Bones of the Bittern (_Botaurus_ or _Ardea stellaris_) are quite -common, as are those of the Mute or tame Swan (_Cygnus olor_) as well -as of the Hooper or wild Swan (_Cygnus musicus_ or _ferus_). Goose -(_Anser_) and Duck (_Anas_) are not so numerous as one might have -expected. The Grey Goose (_Anser ferus_) and the Mallard (_Anas -boscas_) are the most common, but other species are found, as for -instance _Anas grecca_. We have also the Red Breasted Merganser -(_Mergus serrator_), and the Smew (_Mergus albellus_), the Razor Bill -(_Alea tarda_), the Woodcock (_Scolopax rusticola_), the Water Hen -(_Gallinula chloropus_) and a few bones of a Limicoline bird, most -likely a lapwing. We have found the skull, but no more, of the -White-tailed or Sea Eagle (_Haliaetus albicilla_). The whole is a -strangely small collection considering all the circumstances. - -We find in the Fens of course everything of later date, down to the -drowned animals of last winter's storm, or the stranded pike left when -the flood went down. It is a curious fact and very like instinct at -fault that in floods the pike wander into shallow water and linger in -the hollows till too late to get back to the river, so that large -numbers of them are found dead when the water has soaked in or -evaporated. An old man told me that he well remembered when pike were -more abundant they used to dig holes along the margin when the flood -was rising and when it went down commonly found several fine pike in -them. This explains why we so often find the bones of pike in the peat, -but where did the pike get into a habit so little conducive to the -survival of the species? - -Although we notice at the present day a constant change in the -mollusca, their general continuity throughout the long ages from -pre-glacial times is a very remarkable fact. - -The presence of _Corbicula fluminalis_ and _Unio littoralis_ in the -Gravels characterized by the cold-climate group of mammals such as -_Rhinoceros tichorhinus_ and _Elephas primigenius_, the absence of -those shells from the deposits in which _Rh. merckii_ and _E. -antiquus_ are the representative forms, and their existence now -only in more southern latitudes, as France, Sicily or the Nile, but -not in our Turbiferous Series, lay before us a series of apparent -inconsistencies not easy of explanation. - - - - -MAN. - - -Every step in the line of enquiry we have been following, from whatever -point of view we have regarded the evidence, has forced upon us the -conclusion that a long interval elapsed between the Areniferous and -Turbiferous series as seen in the Fens; and yet, having regard to the -geographical history of the area with which we commenced, we cannot but -feel that the various deposits represent only episodes in a continuous -slow development due to changes of level both here and further afield -and the accidents incidental to denudation. - -But the particular deposits which we are examining happen to have been -laid down near sea level where small changes produce great effects. We -may feel assured that over the adjoining higher ground the changes -would have been imperceptible when they were occurring and the results -hardly noticeable. - -If the Fen Beds include nearly the whole of the Neolithic stage the -idea that glacial conditions then prevailed over the adjoining higher -ground is quite untenable. - -So far everything has taught us that the Fens occupy a well-defined -position in the evolution of the geographical features of East Anglia -and also that the fauna is distinctive, and, having regard to the whole -facies, quite different from that of the sands and gravels which occur -at various levels all round and pass under the Turbiferous Series of -the Fens. - -We will now enquire what is the place of these deposits in the -"hierarchy" based upon the remains of man and his handiwork. - -No Palaeolithic remains have ever been found in the Fen deposits. We -must not infer from this that there is everywhere evidence of a similar -break or long interval of time between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic -ages. There are elsewhere remains of man and his handiwork which we -must refer to later Palaeolithic than anything found in the Areniferous -Series just near the Fen Beds, and there are, not far off, remains of -man's handiwork which appear to belong to the Neolithic age, but to an -earlier part of it than anything yet found in association with the Fen -Beds. - -The newer Palaeolithic remains referred to occur chiefly in caves and -the older Neolithic objects are for the most part transitional forms of -implement found on the surface in various places around but outside the -Fens and in the great manufactures of implements at Cissbury and Grimes -Graves, in which we can study the embryology of Neolithic implements -and observe the development of forms suggested by those of Palaeolithic -age or by nature. The sequence and classification adopted in these -groups, both those of later Palaeolithic and those of earlier Neolithic -age, are confirmed by an examination of the contemporary fauna; the -Areniferous facies prevailing in the caves and the Turbiferous facies -characterising the pits and refuse-heaps of Cissbury and Grimes Graves. - -It is interesting to note that these ancient flint workings, in which -we find the best examples of transitional forms, have both of them -some suggestion of remote age. The pits from which the flint was -procured at Cissbury are covered by the ramparts of an ancient British -camp and the ground near Grimes Graves has yielded Palaeolithic -implements _in situ_ in small rain-wash hollows close by--as seen near -"Botany Bay." Palaeolithic man came into this area sometime after the -uplift of East Anglia out of the Glacial Sea and was here through the -period of denudation and formation of river terraces which ensued and -the age of depression which followed. But Neolithic man belongs to the -later part of that period of depression when the ends of some of the -river gravels were again depressed below sea level and the valleys had -scarcely sufficient fall for the rivers to flow freely to the sea. In -the stagnant swamps and meres thus caused the Fen deposits grew, and -in this time the Shippea man met his death mired in the watery peat of -the then undrained fens. - -Human bones have not been very often found in the Fen, and when they do -occur it is not always easy to say whether they really belong to the -age of the peat in which they are found or may not be the remains of -someone mired in the bog or drowned in one of the later filled up -ditches. That they have long been buried in the peat is often obvious -from the colour and condition of the bone. By the kindness of our -friends Mr and Mrs Luddington my wife and I received early information -of the discovery of human bones in trenching on some of their property -in the Fen close to Shippea Hill near Littleport and we were able to -examine the section and get some of the bones out of the peat ourselves -(Fig. 6). A deposit of about 4' 6" of peat with small thin lenticular -beds of shell marl here rested on lead colored alluvial clay. In the -base of the peat about four inches above the Buttery Clay a human -skeleton was found bunched up and crowded into a small space, less than -two feet square, as if the body had settled down vertically. - - _b_ - +-----+ - / \ [Greek: ph] - --------------/ \-------------- - _c_ ..._d_ / \ _d'_... _c_ - / \ + - -----------/ _a_ \----------- - _e_ / \ _e'_ - ---------+-------------------+--------- - - _a._ Kimmeridge Clay forming Shippea Hill, on which monastic - buildings in connection with Ely Cathedral formerly stood. - - _b._ Patches of rusty flint gravel. - - _c._ Peat with bones of beaver, boar, urus, etc. - - _d._ Shell Marl, occurring in lenticular beds of limited extent in - the upper part of the peat, sometimes in one bed as at _d_ and - sometimes in several distinct beds as at _d'_. - - _e._ "Buttery Clay"; full of cockleshells etc. at _e_, but at - _e'_ containing only freshwater shells and pieces of wood. - - + Position of skeleton. - - [Greek: ph] Dressed flint flake on surface. - -[Illustration: Fig. 6. Diagram Section across Shippea Hill.] - -Some of the bones were broken and much decayed, while others, when -carefully extracted, dried and helped out with a little thin glue, -became very sound and showed by the surface markings that they had -suffered only from the moisture and not from any wear in transport. - -The most interesting point about them is the protuberant brow, which, -when first seen on the detached frontal bone, before the skull had been -restored, suggested comparison with that of the Neanderthal man. - -Much greater importance was attached to that character when the -Neanderthal skull was found. - -When I announced the discovery of the Shippea man the point on which I -laid most stress was that, notwithstanding his protuberant brow, he -could not possibly be of the _age_ of the deposits to which the -Neanderthal man was referred. I stated "my own conviction that the peat -in which the Shippea man was found cannot be older than Neolithic times -and may be much newer" and, believing that similar prominent brow -ridges are not uncommon to-day, I suggested that he might be even as -late as the time of the monks of Ely who had a Retreat on Shippea Hill. - -The best authorities who have seen the skull since it has been restored -by Mr C. E. Gray, our skilful First Attendant in the Sedgwick Museum, -refer it to the Bronze Age which falls well within the limits which I -assigned. - -This skull is unique among the few that I have obtained from the Fens. -Dr Duckworth has described[9] most of these, and I subjoin a -description of the Shippea man by Professor Alexander Macalister. - - [9] Duckworth and Shore, _Man_, No. 85, 1911, pp. 134, 139. - - - - -DESCRIPTION OF THE SHIPPEA MAN BY PROF. A. MACALISTER. - - -"The calvaria is large, dark coloured and much broken. The base, facial -bones and part of the left brow ridge and glabella are gone. The -sutures are coarsely toothed and visible superficially although -ankylosis has set in in the inner face. The bone is fairly thick (8.10 -mm.), and on the inner face the pacchionian pits are large and deep on -each side of the middle line especially in the bregmatic part of the -frontal and the post-bregmatic part of the parietals. The superior -longitudinal groove is deep but narrow, and, as far as the broken -condition allows definite tracing, the cerebral convolution impressions -are of the typical pattern. - -[Illustration: Fig. 7.] - -"The striking feature is the prominent brow ridge due to the large -frontal sinus. The glabella was probably prominent and the margins on -each side are large and rough and extend outwards to the supraorbital -notches. The outer part of the supraorbital margin and the processus -jugalis are thick, coarse and prominent (Fig. 7). - -"In norma verticalis the skull is ovoid-pentagonoid euryme-topic with -conspicuous rounded parietal eminences, slight flattening at the -obelion and a convex planum interparietale below it (Fig. 8). - -[Illustration: Fig. 8.] - -"In norma lateralis the brow ridges are conspicuous; above them is the -sulcus transversus from which the frontal ascends with a fairly uniform -curve to the bregma. The frontal sagittal arc above the ophryon -measures 112 mm. and its chord 116. Behind the bregma the parietals -along the front half of the sagittal suture have a fairly flat outline -to the medio-parietal region, behind which the flattened obelion is -continued downwards with a uniform slope to the middle of the planum -interparietale whence it probably descended by a much steeper curve to -the inion, which is lost. The parietal sagittal arc, including the -region where there was probably a supra-lambdoid ossicle, was about 140 -mm. and its chord 121 but the curve is not uniform. - -"In norma occipitalis the sagittal suture appears at the summit of a -ridge whose parietal sides slope outwards forming with each other an -angle of 138 deg., as far as the parietal eminences. From these the sides -drop vertically down to the large mastoid processes. The intermastoid -width at the tips of the processes is 115, but at the supramastoid -crest is 148 (Fig. 9). - -[Illustration: Fig. 9.] - -"In norma frontalis the conspicuous feature is the brow ridge. This -gives a kind of superficial suggestion of a Neanderthaloid shape, but -the broad and well arched frontal dispels the illusory likeness. The -jugal processes jut out giving a biorbital breadth of 115 mm. while the -least frontal width is 97 and the bistephanic expands to 125. There is -a slight median ridge on the frontal ascending from the ophryon, at -first narrow but expanding at the bregma to 50 mm. The surface of this -elevated area is a little smoother than that of the bone on each side -of it. - -"The other long bones are mostly broken at their extremities. The -femora are strong and platymeric. The postero-lateral rounded edge, -which bears on its hinder face the insertion of the gluteus maximus, -taken in connexion with the projection of the thin medial margin of the -shaft below the tuberculum colli inferior causes the upper end of the -shaft to appear flattened. The index of platymeria is .55. The femoral -length cannot have been less than 471 mm. The man was probably of -middle stature, not a giant as was the Gristhorpe man. The tibiae are -also broken at their ends, they are eurycnemic (index .80) with sharp -sinuous shin and flat back, the length may have been between 335 and -340 mm. The humeri are also bones with strong muscular crests, and the -ulnae are smooth and long. The fibula was channelled. There is nothing -in the bone-features which is inconsistent with the reference of the -skull to the Brachycephalic Bronze Age race. - -[Illustration: Fig. 10.] - -"In the following Table are recorded the measurements of the different -regions. The two crania which I have selected to compare with it are -(1) a Round-barrow skull from near Stonehenge (No. 179 in our -Collection) and (2) the Gristhorpe skull, to both of which it bears a -very strong family likeness. - - Shippea Stonehenge - Hill (No. 179) Gristhorpe - Maximal length 194 185 192 - Maximal breadth 153 153 156 - Auricular height 135 132 133 - Biorbital width 115 112 117 - Bistephanic width 128 132 133 - Least frontal width 97 103 106 - Biasterial 120 127 125 - Auriculo-glabellar radius 116 113 114 - Auriculo-ophryal radius 113 111 105 - Auriculo-metopic radius 134 127 124 - Auriculo-bregmatic radius 137 132 134 - Auriculo-lambdoid radius 104 102 115 - Length and breadth index 78.87 82.7 81.25 - -"The resemblance to the two Round-barrow skulls of the Bronze Age is -too great to be accidental, so we may regard this as a representative -of that race, possibly at an earlier stage than the typical form of -which the two selected specimens are examples (Fig. 10). - -"The mandible also resembles that of the Gristhorpe skull in general -shape of angle and prominence of chin. - -"The measurements are as appended: - - Shippea Stonehenge - Hill (No. 179) Gristhorpe - Condylo mental length 131 -- 130 - Gonio mental length 100 -- 99 - Bigoniac 115 -- 116 - Bicondylar 139 -- 141 - Chin height 32 -- 33" - - - - - Cambridge: - PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. - AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Notes on the Fenland, by -T. 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