A HISTORY OF NORFOLK thus the evidence of particular specimens must be received with caution. The occurrence of Paljeolithic implements is always of interest. In Norfolk an implement was found in 1865 at Redhill, near Thetford, and others subsequently were obtained at Shrub Hill Farm, on an islet of gravel in Feltwell Fen, 3^ miles south-west of Feltwell. In the Little Ouse valley at Bromehill, or Broomhill, in the parish of Weeting, north- east of Brandon, implements have been found ; one was obtained in the Yare at Cringleford by Mr. F. W. Harmer ; and others have been met with in the Waveney valley near Bungay, and by Mr. A. C. Savin in the valley gravel at West Runton. It should also be mentioned that Mr. W. J. L. Abbott recorded worked flints from the Cromer Forest Bed Series at East Runton, but Sir John Evans has failed ' to see any distinct marks of human workmanship upon his specimens.' ^ A Paleolithic implement was recorded from the coarse gravels at Wells, in which remains of mammoth have been found. The gravel here is not unlike some of the coarse Plateau Gravels, but may be of later date. The older coarse gravels, as well as those of later date, were utilized by the Palaeolithic men, as many implements in the Little Ouse valley were fashioned from worn flints and some from Carboniferous sandstones and grits. ALLUVIUM The alluvium itself comprises a variety of deposits ; mud and silt, shell marl, peat and gravel ; and in it are found remains of Castor fiber (beaver). Bos taurus {j)rimigenius) , the so-called B. longifrons, Cervus giganteus (Irish elk), Capreolus vulgaris (roe deer), Cervus elaphus (red deer), Sus scrofa (boar), as well as goat and sheep. Rangifer tarandus (reindeer) has been recorded from Feltwell and East Bilney ; and Cervus dama (fallow deer) from Brancaster. Fresh- water shells, hazel nuts, etc., locally occur in the alluvial deposits. The alluvial clays have been used for brick-making in the Fenland, also near Castle Rising, and occasionally at other localities. Peat has been dug in the Fenland, and it was observed by Mr, S. B. J. Skertchly,* that no village was situated on the peaty areas, as the foundations would not permit of it, the few houses being supported by piles driven deep into the clay below. The areas of silt and gravel are marked by numerous villages. Peat has been dug for fuel, on a small scale, in many other parts of Norfolk. The Fenland itself is mostly below the level of high water, and comprises varied deposits of dark clay, silt and peat, altogether about 40 feet thick, and resting on the Jurassic clays. The Fenland clays
- The Ancient Stone Implements, IVeapom and Ornaments of Great Britain, ed. 2, 8vo,
London, 1897, pp. 550, etc. » See 'Geology of the Fenland' [Geol. Survey), 1877 ; and S. H. Miller and S. B. J. Skertchly, 'The Fenland Past and Present,' 1878. 24
