| RefNo | MS/222/52 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Forty-seventh report of progress of excavations by William Pengelly and Edward Vivian, Torquay, to the British Association Kent's Cavern Committee |
| Creator | Pengelly; William (1812-1894); geologist |
| Vivian; Edward (1808–1893); science writer; poet |
| Date | 10 July 1869 |
| Description | Monthly report of the superintendents of excavation. They are still occupied with the South Sally Port, and have excavated up to the 26th parallel inclusive. There is very little stalagmitic floor in this area, and the '"overlying black mould"' is considered a mixture of black mould and cave-earth, with both ancient and modern animal remains contained within. A canine of a cave lion was also found in the deposit. There are traces of Cave-Earth within all deposit layers of the floor, which has not been found elsewhere in the Cavern - comparisons are made to a similar occurence at Creston Caves [Cattedown Bone Caves] near Plymouth.
There have been 'several large lumps' found 'composed entirely of the wing cases of beetles', which had been noted previously by MacEnery, but had he thought they were faecal matter. It is agreed their own interpretation of the deposits match with MacEnery's earlier observations, except for MacEnery's encounter with 'foul air'that made the workmen experience nausea. There is a description of several different pieces of flint that have been found, including a 'splendid spear head'of which an accompanying sketch has been provided to show its size and shape.
Mr. J [John] Evans, a member of the committee, visited the Cavern 3 June 1869. Evans was shown the flint flake found in the Water Gallery, and was asked to make a written opinion for this report. Evans stated: '"No. 3991 is undoubtedly of human workmanship'" and that it shows '"evidence of having been used as a tool"'. |
| Extent | 3p |
| Format | Manuscript |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA2162 | Pengelly; William (1812 - 1894); geologist | 1812 - 1894 |
| NA1686 | Evans; Sir; John (1823 - 1908) | 1823 - 1908 |