200 GREYWETHERS AT GRAYS THURROCK, ESSEX.
of 6in. to a mile. The pit is that east of "Duvals," and west
of the road from Grays to Stifford, and the mark indicating the
position of the grey wethers also shows the most northerly
point now attained by the pit. For some yards southward,
however, the excavation extends downwards only to the level of
the top of the chalk. The height of the section shown in my
drawing is about 17ft. from the green-coated flints at the top of
the chalk to the surface. Above the green-coated flints are
about 8ft. of Thanet sand, and above the Thanet sand are old
Thames river deposits, gravelly towards their base and sandy
FIG. 2.—a TOP OF CHALK ; b GREEN-COATED FLINTS ; c THANET SAND ;
d OLD RIVER DEPOSITS ; e SURFACE.
Height of Section, about 17 feet.
above, both much current-bedded. Then, nearer the surface, is
another irregular bed of small pebbles, and above the pebbles a
little sand and soil. The greywether shown in place is close to
the bottom of the river deposits. Another was seen in a similar
position a few yards eastward, and a third and smaller one a
few yards westward, in the band of small pebbles, about
2ft. from the surface. Eight or nine other blocks of various
sizes were lying a few yards southward of the greywethers
shown in place, having been extracted by the workmen during
the progress of the excavation northward.
I am indebted to my sons, A. R. Holmes and W. D. Holmes
for the photographs showing the block in place in the section,