certain more or less abraded and weathered fragments of flint bearing no trace of human workmanship were associated with them and included under the name of 'eolithic implements.' Flints of this character, bearing no trace of having been artificially shaped, but only some battering and bruising at the edge which were attributed to wear arising from use as implements, were naturally viewed with suspicion by the scientific world. This suspicion was not lessened but rather increased when the so-called 'eolithic implements' were found to be procurable in large numbers at different places in the district, because it became more than ever clear that they were purely natural forms produced either by the forces which crushed and abraded the river and drift-gravels, or by forces which have operated upon the gravel-beds since their deposition, such as ice-pressure, earth movements, and the like.[1]
It is quite clear, however, that a small proportion of what are called eoliths found at high elevations on the chalk plateau of Kent and elsewhere, are of human manufacture, and as their essential features resemble in every way those of the Palæolithic Age, we propose to deal with them under that head. But as far as 'eolithic implements' are concerned it seems evident that a large proportion must be rejected as lacking any evidence of human workmanship or signs of wear arising from intelligent use.
A large number of palæolithic implements discovered in Kent have been found on the surface of the ground. Some of these are drift-worn and were probably derived from drift gravel, but others are wonderfully sharp and entirely unworn. These latter have evidently been preserved from injury by being buried in the earth. The specimens of palæolithic implements and chips found by Mr. F. C. J. Spurrell,[2] many years ago, buried in sands and clays near Crayford Church, were as sharp as when first fractured by man, and show little alteration of surface. In a very large proportion, however, the implements generally speaking have undergone some degree of wear, great or small, and the superficial colour and even texture of the flint has undergone some change. The colouring acquired is usually of a reddish or brownish, and sometimes ochreous or yellowish hue, whilst the texture of the mineral has been so altered as to produce greater opacity and a less horny appearance than is usually found in an ordinary chalk flint freshly broken.[3] This alteration of the character of the flint extends sometimes only a little below the surface, and sometimes to a considerable depth.
A very large number of places in Kent have yielded palæolithic implements, but as these will be individually mentioned in the topographical list at the end of this article, it will not be necessary to refer to310
- ↑ Since the above was written, the possibility of these pieces of flint having been shaped by natural forces, has been clearly demonstrated by Mr. S. Hazzledine Warren, F.G.S., before the Anthropological Institute (London).
- ↑ Arch. Journ. xxxvii. 294–99.
- ↑ It is possible that the colouring matter, protoxide of iron, has been produced by the flint itself in the ordinary process of decay. See Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. lvi. 8, 9.
