Observations on the Earlier Phases of the European Lower Paleolithic

The object of the present communication is to demonstrate the relationships which, in the light of present knowledge, appear to exist between the various Pleistocene and Holocene deposits in the Lower and Middle Thames Valley. For this purpose two cross-sections of the valley have been drawn indicating the relative positions of the deposits which occur at various localities as though they were all present in two localities, one in the Lower, and one in the Middle Thames.

The foreshore exposures of Pleistocene deposits at Clacton and at Lion Point, two miles to the south-west, mark cross-sections of an ancient river channel which now extends inland in a broad curve between these two localities. The deposits have become famous through the investigations of Mr S. Hazzledine Warren, who has for many years kept a careful watch on the exposures, and who has published a number of important papers on his discoveries (Warren, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1933, 1934).