Record

MS - Manuscripts General
- 222 - Reports on excavations at Kent's Cavern by William Pengelly and Edward Vivian

RefNo	MS/222/49
Level	Item
Title	Forty-fourth 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
Creator	Vivian; Edward (1808–1893); science writer; poet
Date	8 April 1869
Description	Monthly report of the superintendents of excavation. The upper level of the Cavern where the lake basin is situated has been designated as 'the "Water Gallery"', and they have continued with excavating the gallery by 'borrowing beneath' the lake to preserve it. The deposit mainly consists of Breccia, and is mostly typical of what they have discovered so far in the Cavern, but the stones in the water gallery from this deposit seem to be concealed by a 'black film, probably of oxide of iron'. There is also a layer of vacuity, ranging in depth from two to twelve inches. Further layers of the floor are described. There were few bones found in March, and those that were of a Cave-Bear and had been found in the upper most levels. The most important object found was a flint flake, of which an outline tracing has been provided. It was found amongst cave bear teeth on a loose block of limestone, against the northern wall of the gallery, and two-to-three feet below the surface of the breccia. The flint flake is considered to be 'formed of human agency' and determined to be of 'very great value': the deposit it was found in is not only older than the implement-bearing Cave-Earth, but also segregated to the Cave-Earth through another deposit layer (the 'old floor'), which is up to ten feet thick in places. The report details five questions that the superintendents asked of themselves to question the origin of the flint stone, and they conclude: 'We have no hesitation in stating that the flake is of the same age as the breccia which contained it, and that, if our opinion of the human origin is confirmed, it is anthropologically by far the most important object the Cavern has yielded'. An addendum that states: 'Professor [John] Tyndall visited the Cavern in March'.
Extent	4p
Format	Manuscript
AccessStatus	Open

Fellows associated with this archive

Code	PersonName	Dates
NA2162	Pengelly; William (1812 - 1894); geologist	1812 - 1894
NA8293	Tyndall; John (1820 - 1893); natural philosopher	1820 - 1893

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