II.—On the Rocks surrounding the Warwickshire Coal-field, and on the Base of the Coal-measures

Abstract

In a paper read before the Birmingham Philosophical Society in 1882, it was announced by Professor Lapworth that the discovery of fossils in some shales underlying the productive Coalmeasures of Warwickshire, and coloured on the Geological Survey Map as Coal-measures, proved that these shales must be of Cambrian age (Lower Silurian of the Geological Survey). As the true age of these shales had for many years been a debateable question, Professor Lapworth's discovery was of considerable interest, and has led to an important alteration being made in the map, the supposed Lower Coal-measures and Millstone Grit having both been now relegated to the Lower Silurian (Lingula Flags). It may be of interest, before entering on the description of these beds, to trace shortly the history of the error in their classification.