Page:Philosophical Transactions - Volume 145.djvu/150

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134
MR. HORNER ON THE ALLUVIAL LAND OF EGYPT.

North end. South end. Speci- _ _ . _ _ _ i_e _ _ _ Speci- men. et. Inches men. Feet. Inches. 1. 5 11 Surface layer. A mixture of Nile 1. 3 7? Surface layer. The same in all re- mud, a blackish brown earthy se- spects as layer No. 1 . of north end. diment, with angular and rounded There was found in it a broken fragments of limestone*, bricks shell of Murex trunculus, a living and pottery, and angularfragments Mediterranean species; remark- of the sandstone of Gebel Achmar. able in being found so far from In the inferior part of the layer the sea, but it may have been car- were found fragments of a marrow- ried by a bird. The freshwater bone of a herbivorous animal. shell Paludina impura or tntacu- It is undistinguishablefromlayer lata was also found . No. 1 . of the south end. - - - 2. 3 0 Thesameas No.2.inthenorthend. 2. 2 0 A light brown, sandy, calcareous Containing also the same Palu- earth, very similar in appearance diva as in the layer above, but and characters to layer No. 2. in altered in the substanee of the Excavation B, except in being shell by having been long buried someewhat darker in colour. It in the ground. contains angular fra ments of lime- - - - stone. 3. 0 7 Very similar to No. 2, and identical It is identical with layer No. 2 . with Nos. 3. and 4. of the north of the south end. end, except in being more sandy. 3. 1 5 A light brown, sandy earth, similar 4. 0 4 Identical with No. 2 . of this south to the preceding layer, but more end, with many fragments of lime- like layer No. 2 . in Excavation B. stone, bricks and pottery. it contains fragments of bricks and - - ___ pottery. 5. 0 9 Undistinguishable from the pre- It is identical with the layer ceding, except fewer fragments. No. 3 . of the south end. In this layer was found a portion of the pectoral fin of a fish. 4. 3 5 A light brown, sandy earth, very - - - _ similar to layer No. S . in Excava- 6. 0 7? Undistinguishable from Nos. 4 . and tion B, except in being lighter in 5. of this south end, except in colour. It contains fragments of being more sandy. coarse pottery. It is identical with layers No. 3 . 7 . 0 6 Quartzose sand, with small concre- and 6. of the south end. tions of Nile mud, and rounded frag,,mentsof opake quartz and 12 |9 ILevelof the filtration water. llll...|portions of brick. 5. 1 6 Identical with the preceding, and 8. 1 8 Identical in all respects with layer containing fragments of chert, No. 3 . of this south end, and with limestone and pottery. layer No. 5 . of north end. 9. 2 7 Identical with the preceding and with layer No. 5 . of the north end. Contains fragments of pottery. 13 10 Level of the filtration water. 10, 1 6 Identical with the above layers 8. and 9, and with No. 5. of the north end. Here we have 14 feet 3 inches of Nile mnudin the north part of the trench, and 15 feet 4 inches in the south end, with an interposed layer of sand of 6 inches.

  • All the limestone fragments are the nummulite limestone of the neighbouring hills.

t On examining this shell, Sir C. LYELL observed, that it is rather a large variety and differs from the English ones in a slight degree, coming most nearly to the variety of the same species found in the Norwich Crag; that this is interesting, as the Gyrenaconsolbrna,a species now recent in Egypt, is found fossil inl the Norwich Crag.