Welcome to Ireland EarthCache
Hidden : 1/5/2023
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:


The Irish Hunger Memorial...



... is dedicated to raising awareness of the Great Irish Hunger, referred to as An Gorta Mór in Irish, in which over one million starved to death between 1845 and 1852.


The memorial is landscaped with stones, soil, and native vegetation transported from the western coast of Ireland — with stones from every Irish county.




This earthcache deals with the "Irish Limestone" or "Kilkenny Limestone" on the outside of the monument and on the ground around it.


The Story of Kilkenny Limestone and formation of the Irish Limestone in general, begins long ago before the Ages of Man or the Age of the Dinosaurs, during what is called the ‘Age of the Crinoids’, some 340 million years ago.


The limestone was formed in a shallow sea bay in the warm waters of the Iapetus. The bay faced a large landmass about 5 degrees north of the equator where fossils were deposited. About 325 million years ago the bay dried up and the hard, fine-grained limestone was formed by diagenesis, in which the fossils were shattered. Due to the movements of plate tectonics, this limestone deposit is now in Ireland.


Irish Limestone deposits extend under Ireland except under County Wicklow and County Antrim and the rocks underlie more than half the area of ​​the island.


The fossils in the Kilkenny Limestone


The fossils in the Irish Hunger Memorial are enhanced because of the dramatic whiteness against the darker matrix of the stone.


The most commonly found fossils are brachiopods, corals, snails and crinoids.

Brachiopods are a type of shellfish (common name is ‘lamp shells’) and lived at the bottom of the sea and were anchored there by a long stalk-like ligament. They survived on plankton. Their appearance in the rock looks like a double circle, one within the other but because the ligament disintegrates before the rock formation the binding of the two circles is lost and you may only see single circles remaining.


Crinoids are similar to a stack of washers. Held together in life but in the rock they can look like spilled washers as the ligaments have gone and the creature disintegrates.


Corals live in colonies and depending upon the way the stone is cut they can appear as white spots or when viewed from the side as longer shapes similar to pencils.


Snail fossils look like snail shells, giving the appearance of curled spirals.







To log the Earthcache:


Take a look around the area and try to answer the questions below and send me the answers. You don't have to wait for an answer and can log right away.

1.) Explain in your own words how the fossils got into the limestone.
2.) Examine the fossils more closely. Touch them with your finger and scratch them with your fingernail. Is there a noticeable difference between the fossils and the limestone? If so, how would you describe him?
3.) Which of the fossils described above can you find in the area? Which are the most common?
4.) Find a floor tile with a particularly large number of fossils. How many fossils can you count on just one tile?
5.) Take a photo of yourself or a personal item in the entrance area (tunnel) of the Irish Hunger Memorial and upload it to your found log.



Source:
www.ontherocksgeoblog.wordpress.com
https://www.brachot.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/

Pictures: RauGeo

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