#FindsFriday Purbeck marble

Welcome back to another #FindsFriday. Today we are enjoying some pieces of Purbeck Marble 👀

Now this may look like a simple stone, but Purbeck Marble is actually a ‘fossiliferous limestone’. Despite not being a true marble, this limestone can be cut and polished to imitate it👉

It’s striking appearance is a result of the tightly packed gastropods (Viviparus) shells infilled by calcite crystals, all held together by a calcareous mud (micrite).

Due to this rock eroding easily, Purbeck Marble was primarily used as veneers, inscriptions and mouldings for architecture. Unsurprisingly, this beautiful rock was quarried extensively into the medieval era and can be widely seen across medieval southern English architecture🏛

Written by CAT Staff Gabby.