Prestwich and Evans report on the Somme gravels

Background. Joseph Prestwich, a British geologist known as an expert on the Tertiary Period, was persuaded by Hugh Falconer in 1858 to visit Abbeville. There, Boucher de Perthes had claimed to have found flint tools in the gravel deposits of the valley of the Somme, thus establishing the antiquity of man.

Investigation. In company with Sir John Evans, Prestwich visited the gravel beds of St Acheul and confirmed the observations of Boucher de Perthes. Evans was an English antiquarian, geologist, and founder of prehistoric archaeology, and Prestwich's report on the matter appeared in the Proceedings of the Royal Society for 1859–1860.

Publication. Prestwich's report on the Somme findings was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society for 1859–1860. This publication is claimed by some authorities to mark the birth of modern scientific archaeology. Evans later communicated papers on flint implements in the drift to Archæologia in 1860 and 1862.