This EarthCache will take you to St.Margaret's Shrine. The shrine of Scotland's only Royal Saint. Her highly decorated wooden casket rested on these blocks of stone.
This EarthCache will help you learn about Frosterley Marble.
In order to log this EarthCache please answer the following questions and send your answers to me using the message facility. Please do not include your answers in your log.
Stage 1. St.Margaret's Shrine.
1. Describe the plinth ,colour of the stone and any fossils
2. Is the plinth made from Metamorphic Rock or Sedimentary Rock?
3. What period and how many years ago was Frosterley Marble formed?
4. Name two prestige places you can find polished Frosterley Marble.
Stage 2. Seat.
5. Describe the the seat, length, is it smooth or rough and any fossils.
6. Describe the largest fossil you see here: shape, length, width and colour.
7. Finally take a photo without showing the seat or plinth in it.
Frosterley Marble also known as Vatican Stone is a dark grey to black bituminous limestone containing fossilized crinoids, coral, sponges and brachiopod inclusions.
Although it appears to show the same traits as marble when polished Frosterley Marble isn’t actually a marble it’s a limestone.
True marbles are metamorphic rocks, formed by the alteration of regular limestones under intense heat and pressure within the Earth.
Limestone is a common type of sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals, calcite and aragonite which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate.
The white markings within the Frosterley marble are fossilised corals.
It was produced from a tropical seabed during the Carboniferous period some 325 million years ago.
As crinoids, coral, sponges and brachiopod died their remains accumulated on the sea floor and were covered by limey substance which hardened into dark grey limestone containing the beautiful fossils.
The corals are now visible as white shapes which show the internal structure of their skeletons in intricate detail.
The marble has been quarried from areas around Frosterley in County Durham since 12th century and has been used to decorate in a variety of prestige buildings such as Bishop Auckland Castle, Durham Cathedral and the Vatican.
Cache placed with the kind permission of Historic Environment Scotland.