A HISTORY OF SURREY hills running roughly in the direction of east and west and known as the North Downs. These hills, which attain an altitude in some places of considerably over 800 feet above the sea level, form the northern boun- dary of the Weald and the southern crest of the chalk plateau. From them the chalk dips gently down to the Thames valley in a northern direction and terminates more abruptly at the margin of the Weald on the south. The North Downs in Surrey are however not without cross-valleys. At Guildford there is a valley of this kind through which the river Wey finds its course. Near Dorking is another, through which the river Mole flows. A little to the north of Merstham is a third valley cutting through the chalk hills, but this is now dry and its bottom is considerably above the surface of the adjacent gault valley of the Weald. It is the bed of the old Wandle, a river which owing to important modifications of its drainage area now commences its course at Croydon and ends it at Wandsworth, where it joins the Thames. Numerous discoveries of paheo- lithic implements have been made in West Surrey, particularly in the valley of the river Wey near Farn- ham. Sir John Evans l records the discovery of one palaeolithic implement, about the year 1842, at Peasemarsh, between Guildford and Godalming. It was found by Mr. Richard Whitbourn, F.S.A., about 5 feet deep in a bed of gravel, and is now in the collec- tion of Sir John Evans, K.C.B. About the year 1 887 a fine pa- laeolithic implement was found by a labourer at Worplesdon in some ballast which had been brought from Farnham. The Farnham gravel was thereupon carefully examined by Mr. Frank Lasham 2 of Guildford, who in the space of less than five years succeeded in procuring therefrom more than 300 implements. Some of these are now exhibited in the Museum of the Charterhouse School at Godalming and in Guildford Museum. It is a curious fact, and also remarkable as showing the intelligent interest which some workmen now take in matters of this kind, that in 1887, the same year in which the implement was found at Worplesdon, another fine specimen was found by another labourer on the railway between Guildford and Farnham. The specimen was shown to the Rev. G. S. Davies, one of the curators of the Charterhouse School Museum, who recognized its importance. It would appear however 1 indent Stone Implements, ed. 2, p. 594 ; Archtfohgia, xxxix. 72.
- Surrey Archeeobffcal Collections, xi. 25-6.
230 PALAEOLITHIC IMPLEMENT, PEASEMARSH, NEAR GUILDFORD.
