54 THE DATING OF EARLY HUMAN REMAINS.
the case with the. few molluscan and mammalian remains that
were found in the deposit.
Dr. Keith pronounces the skull to belong to the English
"River-bed" type, the same as that of Gough's cavern.
On the side of the Stratigraphical evidence, it is true that
other similarly situated deposits in the Medway Valley are
Pleistocene, but this does not help us much. Many similar,
and similarly situated, deposits of rainwash to that which
overlies the Hailing prehistoric "floor" have been formed since
the Neolithic age.28
THE GALLEY HILL SKELETON.
This skeleton has given rise to much discussion. It was
found in one of the world-famous sections of ancient Thames
gravel, which have yielded such a rich harvest of drift imple-
ments.29 The skeleton was evidently complete when buried
in the deposit; it is therefore scarcely probable that it can be a
contemporary fossil. The mineral condition of the bones is
not in accordance with that usually observed in bones from a
Pleistocene gravel.
Unfortunately only one person, a local schoolmaster named
Mr. Hayes, who was without geological experience, saw the
remains before the removal of the skull. Mr. R. Elliott saw some
of the limb bones still in place, but by this time the evidences
of disturbance might well have been cut away on the face of the
section. A friend of mine tells me that he has interviewed
one of the workmen who saw the discovery from the beginning,
and he is very positive that the remains were found in a clearly
marked grave filled in with mixed soil, and that the remains of
two individuals were originally found.
Even if this testimony be not accepted, the circumstances
of the discovery are not satisfactory, and the overwhelming
probability that the skeleton was an interment still remains as
our guide.
Nothing was found buried with the remains which could
give a clue to the date of the interment, nor does the race-type
help us in the matter. It is certainly not of the Neanderthal
race, but Professor Klaatsch groups it. with the Aurignacian,
28 Another skull of the river-bed type has been found by the Rev. E. H. Mullins in the
Langwith cave.
29 E. T Newton, Quar, Journ. Geol. Soc, vol. li., 1895, p. 505.