Page25newcastlevisit

Newcastle-upon-Tyne has some very interesting building stones from various parts of Europe. Members of the Open University Geol. Soc. and N.E.G.S. were given a guided tour of some of the building stones, Sep. 2001, by Steve McLean of the Hancock Museum.
A few examples are given below.

Members of the OUGS and NEGS with Steve McLean on far right outside the Hancock Museum which is built of Carboniferous sandstone.

Larvikite
One of the types of Larvikite (or Laurvigite) from Laurvig, a handsome Norwegian coarse grained igneous rock referred to as a syenite. The complex composition of the feldspars give a beautiful blue schillerisation on polished surfaces. It is a very popular rock for adorning buildings, especially banks. It is therefore sometimes referred to rather derogatorily as "Bankite".

This beautifully mottled stone is Fawska Marble from Norway. It could be described as a metamorphosed limestone conglomerate.

Travertine from Tivoli, Italy

The vertical column under observation is faced with travertine from Tivoli in Italy. Travertine is composed mainly of calcium carbonate deposited by precipitation from carbonate saturated waters. The more porous form of precipitation is known as tufa.

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