The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

Llorfa

Stone Circle

Llorfa (Stone Circle) by thesweetcheat Circle stone (detail).
thesweetcheat Image Credit: A. Brookes (27.9.2013)
Posted by thesweetcheat
4th December 2013ce
NB: Unless otherwise stated, this image is protected under the copyright of the original poster and may not be re-used without permission.

Comments (14)

Cooee . tiompan Posted by tiompan
5th December 2013ce
I'd love to know the geology behind that stone. thesweetcheat Posted by thesweetcheat
5th December 2013ce
Quartzite ? I can't remember ever seeing anything like that though . tiompan Posted by tiompan
5th December 2013ce
Lovely isn't it? thesweetcheat Posted by thesweetcheat
5th December 2013ce
yes , and puzzling . tiompan Posted by tiompan
5th December 2013ce
wow, I've found something that puzzles you! thesweetcheat Posted by thesweetcheat
5th December 2013ce
Have contacted a sculptor and a geologist , hopefully we'll learn something . tiompan Posted by tiompan
5th December 2013ce
Brilliant, thanks George. thesweetcheat Posted by thesweetcheat
5th December 2013ce
Alken , if you have them could you send me the uncompressed pics of the stone please . ? tiompan Posted by tiompan
6th December 2013ce
Yes, sure (will be this evening). thesweetcheat Posted by thesweetcheat
6th December 2013ce


"It's a decorticated stem from an arborescent lycophytes (club moss) almost certainly Lepidodendron. As the plant grew the "bark" with the photosynthetic leaf bases was shed from from the lower part of the main stem or trunk, leaving a surface with this sort of diamond-shaped patterning. Lycophyte stems in this type of preservation are sometimes given the taxonomic name Knorria, but such names are not very meaningful botanically. "
from Head of Botany at Nat Mus Wales via geology/petrology .

tiompan Posted by tiompan
6th December 2013ce
That's terrific, made a lovely stone even lovelier.

I wonder if it was selected for the pattern? Difficult to imagine it being overlooked.
thesweetcheat Posted by thesweetcheat
6th December 2013ce
Everyone has commented on how unusual it is . I have never seen that sort of thing on quartzite .

Almost certainly chosen for that quality , just like the Stoney Littleton ammonite etc ,one of the stones at the cairn is pretty striking too.
tiompan Posted by tiompan
6th December 2013ce
What an interesting and lovely stone. Thanks to the both of you for posting the photo and the info. Lots to think about. Stuff like this is why TMA is great. thelonious Posted by thelonious
6th December 2013ce
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