112 Primaeval Man in the Valley of the Lea.
From the enumeration of the localities in the Lea Valley,
and from the large number of implements there found, it
may be judged how rich the London district is in the relics
of primaeval man. But if the localities are many on the east
side of London they might easily be quadrupled on the west
side, where I have found similar relics. It will be seen that
when, years ago, our English geologists were rushing from
London by rail to visit the French drift "quarries," as they
were termed, they were actually passing English positions
equally rich with the French.
Mr. John Evans was the first to suggest that the slopes of
the Hackney Brook were implementiferous, and, acting on
this hint, I have examined the whole of Lea Valley from
north to south. Of my discoveries in this Valley I esteem
most highly that of the "Palaeolithic Floor" or working place
at Stoke Newington, for here we have three deposits of gravel
and sand superimposed, each deposit clearly marking a dis-
tinct era in the great and prolonged Palaeolithic age.
Having enumerated the localities, I will now proceed to the
material in which the implements are found, and indicate
what may be learned from the gravel and sand when seen in
section.
The best sections and those most familiar to me are imme-
diately north and north-east of Stoke Newington Common,
a position from 80 to 90 feet above the Ordnance datum. In
the accompanying illustration (fig. 5) the upper figure shows
a section 300 feet in length through the gardens between
Alkham and Kyverdale Roads. From 4 ft. to 4 ft. 6 in.
beneath the surface at this place, indicated by a a a in the
upper figure, there is a thin 5 or 6 in. stratum of subangular
flints covered by sandy loam and humus. The 6 in. stratum
of subangular flints contains many Palaeolithic weapons and
tools, and innumerable artificially made flakes ; this stratum
I have termed the "Palaeolithic Floor," because it is a true
"floor" or working place where the more recent Palaeolithic
men lived and made their instruments of stone. Upon this
floor, weapons, tools, flakes, hammer-stones, anvils, and
bones are to be found in the very positions where they were