Reliquiae Diluvianae
Or, Observations on the Organic Remains Contained in Caves, Fissures, and Diluvial Gravel, and on Other Geological Phenomena, Attesting the Action of an Universal Deluge

A full account of William Buckland's influential research in Kirkland Cave, Yorkshire, first published in 1823.

William Buckland (Author)

9781108021142, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 17 February 2011

352 pages, 22 b/w illus. 1 colour illus. 4 maps 1 table
29.7 x 21 x 1.9 cm, 0.85 kg

William Buckland (1784–1856), Dean of Westminster, was an English geologist best known for his contributions to palaeontology. He became the first Reader in Geology at the University of Oxford in 1818. Buckland spent 1819–1822 investigating fossil remains in caves, in order to refine his concept of catastrophism. His research led him to the realisation that hyena remains in Kirkland Cave, Yorkshire, were the remains of an ancient ecosystem and were not relics of the Flood; this led to his being awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society of London in 1822. This volume, first published in 1823, contains a full account of Buckland's influential research in Kirkland Cave, which demonstrated for the first time the ability of scientific analysis to reconstruct events from deep time. Buckland's support for and influential revision of the concept of catastrophism is also illustrated in this volume.

1. Cave at Kirkdale
2. Chronological inferences from it
3. Caves at Kirby Moorside
4. Open fissure in Duncomb Park
5. Cave at Hutton, in the Mendip Hills
6. Cave on Derdham Down, near Clifton
7. Cave at Balleye, near Wirksworth
8. Dream Cave, near Wirksworth
9. Three sets of caves near Plymouth
10. Cave at Crawley Rocks, near Swansea
11. Cave at Paviland, near Swansea
12. Caves in Germany
13. Osseous Breccia of Gibraltar, Nice, Dalmatia, etc.
14. Human remains in caves
15. Evidences of an inundation afforded by phenomena on the earth's surface
16. Postscript
Appendix
17. Explanation of the plates
Index.

Subject Areas: Geology & the lithosphere [RBG]