1.
Geological formation
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A formation or geological formation is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy. A formation consists of a number of rock strata that have a comparable lithology. Formations are not defined on the thickness of the strata they consist of. The concept of formally defined layers or strata is central to the discipline of stratigraphy. Formations can be divided into members and are themselves frequently parcelled together in groups, the definition and recognition of formations allow geologists to correlate geologic strata across wide distances between outcrops and exposures of rock strata. Formations were initially described to be the essential geologic time markers based on relative ages, the divisions of the geological time scale were the formations described and put in chronological order by the geologists and stratigraphers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Geologic formations are sedimentary rock layers, but may also be metamorphic rocks. Igneous intrusive rocks are not divided into formations. Formations are the only formal lithostratigraphic units into which the stratigraphic column everywhere should be divided completely on the basis of lithology, Formations must be able to be delineated at the scale of geologic mapping practiced in the region. The thickness of formations may range from less than a meter to several thousand meters, geologic formations are typically named for the geographic area in which they were first described. Strictly, formations cannot be defined on any other criteria except primary lithology, sequence stratigraphy is a concept which challenges the idea of strict lithostratigraphic units by defining units based on events in sedimentary basins such as oceanic regressions and transgressions. The term formation is used informally to refer to a specific grouping of rocks. Formation is also used informally to describe the sometimes odd shapes that rocks acquire through erosional or depositional processes, such a formation is said to be abandoned when it is no longer affected by the geologic agent that produced it. Some well known cave formations include stalactites and stalagmites, geochronology List of Rock Formations List of Chinese geological formations List of fossil sites
2.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
3.
South Wales
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South Wales is the region of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the southwest of the United Kingdom, the Brecon Beacons national park covers about a third of South Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest mountain south of Snowdonia. Areas to the north of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains are generally considered part of Mid Wales, the expression south Wales is not officially defined, and its meaning has changed over time. Between the Statute of Rhuddlan of 1284 and the Laws in Wales Act 1535 and this was divided into a Principality of South Wales and a Principality of North Wales. The southern principality was made up of the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, the legal responsibility for this area lay in the hands of the Justiciar of South Wales based at Carmarthen. Other parts of southern Wales were in the hands of various Marcher Lords, the Laws in Wales Acts 1542 created the Court of Great Sessions in Wales based on four legal circuits. The Brecon circuit served the counties of Brecknockshire, Radnorshire and Glamorgan while the Carmarthen circuit served Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, Monmouthshire was attached to the Oxford circuit for judicial purposes. These seven southern counties were thus differentiated from the six counties of north Wales, the Court of the Great Sessions came to an end in 1830, but the counties survived until the Local Government Act 1972 which came into operation in 1974. The creation of the county of Powys merged one northern county with two southern ones, there are thus different concepts of south Wales. Glamorgan and Monmouthshire are generally accepted by all as being in south Wales, but the status of Breconshire or Carmarthenshire, for instance, is more debatable. In the western extent, from Swansea westwards, local people might feel that they live in both south Wales and west Wales, areas to the north of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains are generally considered to be in Mid Wales. A further point of uncertainty is whether the first element of the name should be capitalized, as the name is a geographical expression rather than a specific area with well-defined borders, style guides such as those of the BBC and The Guardian use the form south Wales. The most densely populated region in the southwest of the United Kingdom, the Brecon Beacons national park covers about a third of South Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest mountain south of Snowdonia. This natural beauty changed to an extent during the early Industrial Revolution when the Glamorgan and Monmouthshire valley areas were exploited for coal. By the 1830s, hundreds of tons of coal were being transported by barge to ports in Cardiff, lord Bute then charged fees per ton of coal that was transported out using his railways. Whilst some of the left, many settled and established in the South Wales Valleys between Swansea and Abergavenny as English-speaking communities with a unique identity. Industrial workers were housed in cottages and terraced houses close to the mines and foundries in which they worked. The large influx over the years caused overcrowding which led to outbreaks of Cholera, and on the social and cultural side and this number is now very low, following the UK miners strike, and the last traditional deep-shaft mine, Tower Colliery, closed in January 2008
4.
Limestone
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Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, forams and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate, about 10% of sedimentary rocks are limestones. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes, most cave systems are through limestone bedrock. The first geologist to distinguish limestone from dolomite was Belsazar Hacquet in 1778, like most other sedimentary rocks, most limestone is composed of grains. Most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Other carbonate grains comprising limestones are ooids, peloids, intraclasts and these organisms secrete shells made of aragonite or calcite, and leave these shells behind when they die. Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or siliceous skeletal fragment, some limestones do not consist of grains at all, and are formed completely by the chemical precipitation of calcite or aragonite, i. e. travertine. Secondary calcite may be deposited by supersaturated meteoric waters and this produces speleothems, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Another form taken by calcite is oolitic limestone, which can be recognized by its granular appearance, the primary source of the calcite in limestone is most commonly marine organisms. Some of these organisms can construct mounds of rock known as reefs, below about 3,000 meters, water pressure and temperature conditions cause the dissolution of calcite to increase nonlinearly, so limestone typically does not form in deeper waters. Limestones may also form in lacustrine and evaporite depositional environments, calcite can be dissolved or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors, including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Calcite exhibits a characteristic called retrograde solubility, in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases. Impurities will cause limestones to exhibit different colors, especially with weathered surfaces, Limestone may be crystalline, clastic, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation. Crystals of calcite, quartz, dolomite or barite may line small cavities in the rock, when conditions are right for precipitation, calcite forms mineral coatings that cement the existing rock grains together, or it can fill fractures. Travertine is a banded, compact variety of limestone formed along streams, particularly there are waterfalls. Calcium carbonate is deposited where evaporation of the leaves a solution supersaturated with the chemical constituents of calcite. Tufa, a porous or cellular variety of travertine, is found near waterfalls, coquina is a poorly consolidated limestone composed of pieces of coral or shells. During regional metamorphism that occurs during the building process, limestone recrystallizes into marble
5.
Shale
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Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable, shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering or bedding less than one centimeter in thickness, called fissility. Mudstones, on the hand, are similar in composition. Before the mid 19th century, the slate, shale. In the context of underground mining, shale was frequently referred to as slate well into the 20th century. Non-fissile rocks of similar composition but made of smaller than 0.06 mm are described as mudstones or claystone. Rocks with similar sizes but with less clay and therefore grittier are siltstones. Shale is the most common sedimentary rock, shales are typically composed of variable amounts of clay minerals and quartz grains and the typical color is gray. Addition of variable amounts of minor constituents alters the color of the rock, black shale results from the presence of greater than one percent carbonaceous material and indicates a reducing environment. Black shale can also be referred to as black metal, red, brown and green colors are indicative of ferric oxide, iron hydroxide, or micaceous minerals. Clays are the constituent of shales and other mudrocks. The clay minerals represented are largely kaolinite, montmorillonite and illite, clay minerals of Late Tertiary mudstones are expandable smectites whereas in older rocks especially in mid- to early Paleozoic shales illites predominate. The transformation of smectite to illite produces silica, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron and these released elements form authigenic quartz, chert, calcite, dolomite, ankerite, hematite and albite, all trace to minor minerals found in shales and other mudrocks. Shales and mudrocks contain roughly 95 percent of the matter in all sedimentary rocks. However, this amounts to less than one percent by mass in an average shale, black shales, which form in anoxic conditions, contain reduced free carbon along with ferrous iron and sulfur. Pyrite and amorphous iron sulfide along with carbon produce the black coloration, the process in the rock cycle which forms shale is called compaction. The fine particles that compose shale can remain suspended in long after the larger particles of sand have deposited. Shales are typically deposited in very slow moving water and are found in lakes and lagoonal deposits, in river deltas, on floodplains
6.
Triassic
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The Triassic is a geologic period and system which spans 50.9 million years from the end of the Permian Period 252.17 million years ago, to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.3 Mya. The Triassic is the first period of the Mesozoic Era, both the start and end of the period are marked by major extinction events. Therapsids and archosaurs were the terrestrial vertebrates during this time. A specialized subgroup of archosaurs, called dinosaurs, first appeared in the Late Triassic, the vast supercontinent of Pangaea existed until the mid-Triassic, after which it began to gradually rift into two separate landmasses, Laurasia to the north and Gondwana to the south. The global climate during the Triassic was mostly hot and dry, however, the climate shifted and became more humid as Pangaea began to drift apart. The end of the period was marked by yet another mass extinction, the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event. The Triassic is usually separated into Early, Middle, and Late Triassic Epochs, from the east, along the equator, the Tethys sea penetrated Pangaea, causing the Paleo-Tethys Ocean to be closed. Later in the mid-Triassic a similar sea penetrated along the equator from the west, the remaining shores were surrounded by the world-ocean known as Panthalassa. All the deep-ocean sediments laid down during the Triassic have disappeared through subduction of oceanic plates, thus, the supercontinent Pangaea was rifting during the Triassic—especially late in that period—but had not yet separated. In North America, for example, marine deposits are limited to a few exposures in the west, thus Triassic stratigraphy is mostly based on organisms that lived in lagoons and hypersaline environments, such as Estheria crustaceans. At the beginning of the Mesozoic Era, Africa was joined with Earths other continents in Pangaea, Africa shared the supercontinents relatively uniform fauna which was dominated by theropods, prosauropods and primitive ornithischians by the close of the Triassic period. Late Triassic fossils are found throughout Africa, but are common in the south than north. The time boundary separating the Permian and Triassic marks the advent of an event with global impact. At Paleorrota geopark, located in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in these formations, one of the earliest dinosaurs, Staurikosaurus, as well as the mammal ancestors Brasilitherium and Brasilodon have been discovered. The Triassic continental interior climate was hot and dry, so that typical deposits are red bed sandstones and evaporites. Pangaeas large size limited the effect of the global ocean, its continental climate was highly seasonal, with very hot summers. The strong contrast between the Pangea supercontinent and the global ocean triggered intense cross-equatorial monsoons, the best studied of such episodes of humid climate, and probably the most intense and widespread, was the Carnian Pluvial Event. On land, the vascular plants included the lycophytes, the dominant cycadophytes, ginkgophyta, ferns, horsetails
7.
Jurassic
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The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that spans 56.3 million years from the end of the Triassic Period 201.3 million years ago to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period 145 Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic Era, also known as the Age of Reptiles, the start of the period is marked by the major Triassic–Jurassic extinction event. The Jurassic is named after the Jura Mountains within the European Alps, by the beginning of the Jurassic, the supercontinent Pangaea had begun rifting into two landmasses, Laurasia to the north and Gondwana to the south. This created more coastlines and shifted the continental climate from dry to humid, on land, the fauna transitioned from the Triassic fauna, dominated by both dinosauromorph and crocodylomorph archosaurs, to one dominated by dinosaurs alone. The first birds also appeared during the Jurassic, having evolved from a branch of theropod dinosaurs, other major events include the appearance of the earliest lizards, and the evolution of therian mammals, including primitive placentals. Crocodilians made the transition from a terrestrial to a mode of life. The oceans were inhabited by marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, the chronostratigraphic term Jurassic is directly linked to the Jura Mountains. The name Jura is derived from the Celtic root jor, which was Latinised into juria, the Jurassic period is divided into the Early Jurassic, Middle, and Late Jurassic epochs. The Jurassic System, in stratigraphy, is divided into the Lower Jurassic, Middle, the separation of the term Jurassic into three sections goes back to Leopold von Buch. The Jurassic North Atlantic Ocean was relatively narrow, while the South Atlantic did not open until the following Cretaceous period, the Tethys Sea closed, and the Neotethys basin appeared. Climates were warm, with no evidence of glaciation, as in the Triassic, there was apparently no land over either pole, and no extensive ice caps existed. In contrast, the North American Jurassic record is the poorest of the Mesozoic, the Jurassic was a time of calcite sea geochemistry in which low-magnesium calcite was the primary inorganic marine precipitate of calcium carbonate. Carbonate hardgrounds were thus very common, along with calcitic ooids, calcitic cements, the first of several massive batholiths were emplaced in the northern American cordillera beginning in the mid-Jurassic, marking the Nevadan orogeny. Important Jurassic exposures are found in Russia, India, South America, Japan, Australasia. As the Jurassic proceeded, larger and more groups of dinosaurs like sauropods and ornithopods proliferated in Africa. Middle Jurassic strata are well represented nor well studied in Africa. Late Jurassic strata are also poorly represented apart from the spectacular Tendaguru fauna in Tanzania, the Late Jurassic life of Tendaguru is very similar to that found in western North Americas Morrison Formation. During the Jurassic period, the primary living in the sea were fish
8.
Fossil
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Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous rock formations and sedimentary layers is known as the fossil record. The study of fossils across geological time, how they were formed, such a preserved specimen is called a fossil if it is older than some minimum age, most often the arbitrary date of 10,000 years. The observation that fossils were associated with certain rock strata led early geologists to recognize a geological timescale in the 19th century. The development of dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed geologists to determine the numerical or absolute age of the various strata. Like extant organisms, fossils vary in size from microscopic, even single bacterial cells one micrometer in diameter, to gigantic, such as dinosaurs, Fossils may also consist of the marks left behind by the organism while it was alive, such as animal tracks or feces. These types of fossil are called trace fossils, as opposed to body fossils, finally, past life leaves some markers that cannot be seen but can be detected in the form of biochemical signals, these are known as chemofossils or biosignatures. The process of fossilization varies according to type and external conditions. Permineralization is a process of fossilization that occurs when an organism is buried, the empty spaces within an organism become filled with mineral-rich groundwater. Minerals precipitate from the groundwater, occupying the empty spaces and this process can occur in very small spaces, such as within the cell wall of a plant cell. Small scale permineralization can produce very detailed fossils, for permineralization to occur, the organism must become covered by sediment soon after death or soon after the initial decay process. The degree to which the remains are decayed when covered determines the later details of the fossil, some fossils consist only of skeletal remains or teeth, other fossils contain traces of skin, feathers or even soft tissues. This is a form of diagenesis, in some cases the original remains of the organism completely dissolve or are otherwise destroyed. The remaining organism-shaped hole in the rock is called an external mold, if this hole is later filled with other minerals, it is a cast. An endocast or internal mold is formed when sediments or minerals fill the cavity of an organism. This is a form of cast and mold formation. If the chemistry is right, the organism can act as a nucleus for the precipitation of minerals such as siderite, if this happens rapidly before significant decay to the organic tissue, very fine three-dimensional morphological detail can be preserved. Nodules from the Carboniferous Mazon Creek fossil beds of Illinois, USA, are among the best documented examples of such mineralization, replacement occurs when the shell, bone or other tissue is replaced with another mineral
9.
Ammonoidea
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Ammonoids are an extinct group of marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs are more related to living coleoids than they are to shelled nautiloids such as the living Nautilus species. The earliest ammonites appear during the Devonian, and the last species died out during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, Ammonites are excellent index fossils, and it is often possible to link the rock layer in which a particular species or genus is found to specific geologic time periods. Their fossil shells usually take the form of planispirals, although there were some helically spiraled and nonspiraled forms, the name ammonite, from which the scientific term is derived, was inspired by the spiral shape of their fossilized shells, which somewhat resemble tightly coiled rams horns. Pliny the Elder called fossils of these animals ammonis cornua because the Egyptian god Ammon was typically depicted wearing rams horns, often the name of an ammonite genus ends in -ceras, which is Greek for horn. The topology of the septa, especially around the rim, results in the various suture patterns found, three major types of suture patterns are found in the Ammonoidea, Goniatitic - numerous undivided lobes and saddles, typically 8 lobes around the conch. This pattern is characteristic of the Paleozoic ammonoids, ceratitic - lobes have subdivided tips, giving them a saw-toothed appearance, and rounded undivided saddles. This suture pattern is characteristic of Triassic ammonoids and appears again in the Cretaceous pseudoceratites, ammonitic - lobes and saddles are much subdivided, subdivisions are usually rounded instead of saw-toothed. Ammonoids of this type are the most important species from a point of view. This suture type is characteristic of Jurassic and Cretaceous ammonoids, the siphuncle in most ammonoids by far is a narrow tubular structure that runs along the outer rim, known as the venter, connecting the chambers of the phragmocone to the body or living chamber. This distinguishes them from living nautiloides and typical Nautilida, the word siphuncle comes from the New Latin siphunculus, meaning little siphon. Originating from within the bactritoid nautiloids, the ammonoid cephalopods first appeared in the Devonian, while nearly all nautiloids show gently curving sutures, the ammonoid suture line is variably folded, forming saddles and lobes. In subsequent taxonomies, these are regarded as orders within the subclass Ammonoidea. Because ammonites and their relatives are extinct, little is known about their way of life. Their soft body parts are rarely preserved in any detail. Nonetheless, much has been worked out by examining ammonoid shells, synchrotron analysis of an aptychophoran ammonite revealed remains of isopod and mollusc larvae in its buccal cavity, indicating at least this kind of ammonite fed on plankton. They may have avoided predation by squirting ink, much like modern cephalopods, the soft body of the creature occupied the largest segments of the shell at the end of the coil. The smaller earlier segments were walled off and the animal could maintain its buoyancy by filling them with gas, thus, the smaller sections of the coil would have floated above the larger sections
10.
Rhaetian
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See Raetians for the Alpine people of antiquity. See Raetian language for their language, the Rhaetian is, in geochronology, the latest age of the Triassic period or in chronostratigraphy the uppermost stage of the Triassic system. It lasted from 208.5 to 201.3 million years ago and it was preceded by the Norian and succeeded by the Hettangian. In this age, Pangaea began to break up, though the Atlantic Ocean was not yet formed, the Rhaetian is named after the Rhaetian Alps, a mountain chain stretching over parts of eastern Switzerland, northern Italy and western Austria. The stage was introduced in literature by Austrian geologist Eduard Suess. The base of the Rhaetian did not yet have an agreed upon definition in 2009. In the Tethyan domain, the base of the biozone of Sagenites reticulatus is used. The base is close to the first appearances of conodont species Misikella spp. and Epigondolella mosheri. The top of the Rhaetian is at the first appearance of ammonite genus Psiloceras, in the Tethyan domain, the Rhaetian contains two ammonite biozones. The highest ammonite biozone is that of Choristoceras marshi, the one that of Rhabdoceras suesii. The end of period is marked by the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event. & Smith, A. G.2004, A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press
11.
Sinemurian
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In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age or stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic epoch or series. It spans the time between 199.3 ±2 Ma and 190.8 ±1.5 Ma, the Sinemurian is preceded by the Hettangian and is followed by the Pliensbachian. In Europe the Sinemurian age, together with the Hettangian age, saw the deposition of the lower Lias, the Sinemurian stage was defined and introduced into scientific literature by French palaeontologist Alcide dOrbigny in 1842. It takes its name from the French town of Semur-en-Auxois, near Dijon, the calcareous soil formed from the Jurassic limestone of the region is in part responsible for the character of the classic Sancerre wines. The base of the Sinemurian stage is at the first appearance of the ammonite genera Vermiceras and Metophioceras in the stratigraphic record. A global reference profile for the Sinemurian stage is located in a north of the hamlet of East Quantoxhead,6 kilometres east of Watchet, Somerset. The top of the Sinemurian is at the first appearances of the ammonite species Bifericeras donovani,2001, Global Stratotype Section and Point for base of the Sinemurian Stage, Episodes 25, pp. 22–28, PDF Gradstein, F. M. & Smith, A. G.2004, A Geologic Time Scale 2004, terrains oolitiques ou jurassiques, Bertrand, Paris
12.
Geologic time scale
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The table of geologic time spans, presented here, agrees with the nomenclature, dates and standard color codes set forth by the International Commission on Stratigraphy. Evidence from radiometric dating indicates that Earth is about 4.54 billion years old, the geology or deep time of Earth’s past has been organized into various units according to events which took place in each period. Older time spans, which predate the reliable record, are defined by their absolute age. Some other planets and moons within the Solar System have sufficiently rigid structures to have preserved records of their own histories, for example, Venus, Mars, dominantly fluid planets, such as the gas giants, do not preserve their history in a comparable manner. Apart from the Late Heavy Bombardment, events on other planets probably had little influence on the Earth. Construction of a scale that links the planets is, therefore, of only limited relevance to the Earths time scale. The existence, timing, and terrestrial effects of the Late Heavy Bombardment is still debated, the largest defined unit of time is the supereon, composed of eons. Eons are divided into eras, which are in turn divided into periods, epochs, the terms eonothem, erathem, system, series, and stage are used to refer to the layers of rock that correspond to these periods of geologic time in Earths history. Geologists qualify these units as early, mid, and late when referring to time, and lower, middle, for example, the lower Jurassic Series in chronostratigraphy corresponds to the early Jurassic Epoch in geochronology. The adjectives are capitalized when the subdivision is formally recognized, and lower case when not, thus early Miocene but Early Jurassic. Geologic units from the time but different parts of the world often look different and contain different fossils. For example, in North America the Lower Cambrian is called the Waucoban series that is subdivided into zones based on succession of trilobites. In East Asia and Siberia, the unit is split into Alexian, Atdabanian. A key aspect of the work of the International Commission on Stratigraphy is to reconcile this conflicting terminology, the term Anthropocene is used informally by popular culture and a growing number of scientists to describe the current epoch in which we are living. The term was coined by Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer in 2000 to describe the current time, others say that humans have not even started to leave their biggest impact on Earth, and therefore the Anthropocene hasnt even started yet. Whatever the case, the ICS has not officially approved the term, leonardo da Vinci concurred with Aristotles interpretation that fossils represented the remains of ancient life. The 11th-century Persian geologist Avicenna and the 13th-century Dominican bishop Albertus Magnus extended Aristotles explanation into a theory of a petrifying fluid. Avicenna also first proposed one of the principles underlying geologic time scales, the Chinese naturalist Shen Kuo also recognized the concept of deep time
13.
Hettangian
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The Hettangian is the earliest age or lowest stage of the Jurassic period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 201.3 ±0.2 Ma and 199.3 ±0.3 Ma, the Hettangian follows the Rhaetian and is followed by the Sinemurian. In European stratigraphy the Hettangian is a part of the span in which the Lias was deposited. An example is the British Blue Lias, which has an upper Rhaetian to Sinemurian age, another example is the lower Lias from the Northern Limestone Alps where well-preserved but very rare ammonites, including Alsatites, have been found. The Hettangian was introduced in the literature by Swiss palaeontologist, Eugène Renevier, the stage takes its name from Hettange-Grande, a town in north-eastern France, just south of the border with Luxembourg on the main road from Luxembourg City to Metz. The base of the Hettangian stage is defined as the place in the column where fossils of the ammonite genus Psiloceras first appear. A global reference profile for the base was defined 2010 at the Kuhjoch in the Karwendel in western Austria, the top of the Hettangian stage is at the first appearances of ammonite genera Vermiceras and Metophioceras. During the Hettangian, however, the Neoammonites developed relatively quickly, so even in the middle Hettangian a large number of genera. Triassic-Jurassic extinction event Komlosaurus carbonis Gradstein, F. M, & Smith, A. G.2004, A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press. Renevier, E. Notices géologiques et paléontologiques sur les Alpes Vaudoises, infralias et Zone à Avicula contorta des Alpes Vaudoises Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles 8, p. 39-97
14.
Early Jurassic
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The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event,201.3 Ma, certain rocks of marine origin of this age in Europe are called Lias and that name was used for the period, as well, in 19th century geology. In southern Germany rocks of this age are called Black Jurassic, there are extensive Liassic outcrops around the coast of the United Kingdom, in particular in Glamorgan, North Yorkshire and Dorset. The Jurassic Coast of Dorset is often associated with the work of Mary Anning of Lyme Regis. The facies of the Lower Jurassic in this area are predominantly of clays, thin limestones and siltstones, Lias Group strata form imposing cliffs on the Vale of Glamorgan coast, in southern Wales. There has been debate over the actual base of the Hettangian stage. If this biostratigraphical indicator is used, then technically the Lias Group—a lithostratigraphical division—spans the Jurassic / Triassic boundary, during this period, ammonoids, which had almost died out at the end-of-Triassic extinction, radiated out into a huge diversity of new forms with complex suture patterns. Ammonites evolved so rapidly, and their shells are so often preserved, there were several distinct waves of ammonite evolution in Europe alone. The Early Jurassic was an important time in the evolution of the marine reptiles, all these plesiosaurs had medium-sized necks and large heads. In the Toarcian, at the end of the Early Jurassic, accompanying them as small carnivores were the sphenosuchian and protosuchid crocodilians. In the air, new types of pterosaurs replaced those that had died out at the end of the Triassic, but in the undergrowth were various types of early mammals, as well as tritylodont mammal-like reptiles, lizard-like sphenodonts, and early Lissamphibians. Late Triassic Toarcian turnover Davies, A. M, an Introduction to Palaeontology, Thomas Murby & Co. Geology of The Dorset Coast, The Geologists Association, simms, M. J. Chidlaw, N. Morton, N. and Page, K. N. British Lower Jurassic Stratigraphy, Geological Conservation Review Series, No,30, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough. Early Jurassic Period – The Lias epoch, informative lecture notes by Dr. Paul Olsen
15.
Stratigraphy
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Stratigraphy is a branch of geology which studies rock layers and layering. It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks, stratigraphy has two related subfields, lithologic stratigraphy or lithostratigraphy, and biologic stratigraphy or biostratigraphy. The first practical application of stratigraphy was by William Smith in the 1790s. Another influential application of stratigraphy in the early 19th century was a study by Georges Cuvier, variation in rock units, most obviously displayed as visible layering, is due to physical contrasts in rock type. This variation can occur vertically as layering, or laterally, and these variations provide a lithostratigraphy or lithologic stratigraphy of the rock unit. Key concepts in stratigraphy involve understanding how certain geometric relationships between rock layers arise and what these geometries imply about their original depositional environment. The basic concept in stratigraphy, called the law of superposition, states, in a stratigraphic sequence. Chemostratigraphy studies the changes in the proportions of trace elements and isotopes within. Carbon and oxygen isotope ratios vary with time, and researchers can use those to map subtle changes that occurred in the paleoenvironment and this has led to the specialized field of isotopic stratigraphy. Biostratigraphy or paleontologic stratigraphy is based on evidence in the rock layers. Strata from widespread locations containing the fossil fauna and flora are said to be correlatable in time. Biologic stratigraphy was based on William Smiths principle of succession, which predated. It provides strong evidence for the formation and extinction of species, the geologic time scale was developed during the 19th century, based on the evidence of biologic stratigraphy and faunal succession. One important development is the Vail curve, which attempts to define a global historical sea-level curve according to inferences from worldwide stratigraphic patterns, stratigraphy is also commonly used to delineate the nature and extent of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir rocks, seals, and traps of petroleum geology. Chronostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy that places an absolute age, a gap or missing strata in the geological record of an area is called a stratigraphic hiatus. This may be the result of a halt in the deposition of sediment, alternatively, the gap may be due to removal by erosion, in which case it may be called a stratigraphic vacuity. It is called a hiatus because deposition was on hold for a period of time, a physical gap may represent both a period of non-deposition and a period of erosion. A geologic fault may cause the appearance of a hiatus, magnetostratigraphy is a chronostratigraphic technique used to date sedimentary and volcanic sequences
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Stratigraphic unit
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Units must be mappable and distinct from one another, but the contact need not be particularly distinct. For instance, a unit may be defined by such as when the sandstone component exceeds 75%. Sequences of sedimentary and volcanic rocks are subdivided on the basis of their lithology, going from smaller to larger in scale, the main units recognised are Bed, Member, Formation, Group and Supergroup. A bed is a distinct layer within a member or formation and is the smallest recognisable stratigraphic unit. These are not normally named, but may be in the case of a marker horizon, a member is a named lithologically distinct part of a formation. Not all formations are subdivided in this way and even where they are recognized, formations are the primary units used in the subdivision of a sequence and may vary in scale from tens of centimetres to kilometres. They should be distinct lithologically from other formations, although the boundaries do not need to be sharp, to be formally recognised, a formation must have sufficient extent to be useful in mapping an area. A group is a set of two or more formations that share certain lithological characteristics, a group may be made up of different formations in different geographical areas and individual formations may appear in more than one group. A supergroup is a set of two or more associated groups and/or formations that share certain lithological characteristics, a supergroup may be made up of different groups in different geographical areas. A sequence of fossil-bearing sedimentary rocks can be subdivided on the basis of the occurrence of fossil taxa. A unit defined in this way is known as a biostratigraphic unit, the five commonly used types of biozone are assemblage, range, abundance, interval and lineage zones. An assemblage zone is a stratigraphic interval characterised by an assemblage of three or more coexisting fossil taxa that distinguish it from surrounding strata. A range zone is an interval that represents the occurrence range of a specific fossil taxon. An abundance zone is an interval in which the abundance of a particular taxon is significantly greater than seen in neighbouring parts of the succession. An interval zone is a stratigraphic interval whose top and base are defined by horizons that mark the first or last occurrence of two different taxa, a lineage zone is a stratigraphic interval that contains fossils that represent parts of the evolutionary lineage of a particular fossil group. This is a case of a range zone. Chronostratigraphy Glaciology Magnetostratigraphy Sedimentology Sequence stratigraphy Stratigraphy International Commission on Stratigraphy Stratigraphic Guide
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Blue Lias
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The Blue Lias is a geologic formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassic times, the Blue Lias is famous for its fossils, especially ammonites. Its age corresponds to the Rhaetian to lower Sinemurian stages of the geologic timescale and it is the lowest of the three divisions of the Lower Jurassic period and, as such, is also given the name Lower Lias. Stratigraphically it can be subdivided into three members, the Wilmcote Limestone, Saltford Shale and Rugby Limestone, the Blue Lias comprises decimetre scale alternations of argillaceous limestone and mudstone. These alternations are caused by short-term climatic variations during the Early Jurassic attributed to orbital forcing and these limestone-mudstone alternations pass up into a clay member formerly known as the Lower Lias Clay now the Charmouth Mudstone. This lithology consists of monotonous mudstones weathering to clay at the surface, sparse thin limestone and nodule bands are seen where the rocks are exposed. The deposition of a clay-rich mudstone member normally indicates deposition in a marine environment. In certain restricted parts of Britain, the lowermost member of the Blue Lias is the Wilmcote Limestone and it lies above the Cotham Member of the Lilstock Formation and beneath the Saltford Shale Member. The Wilmcote Limestone of central England was formerly quarried close to Stratford-upon-Avon, for example at Wilmcote and it is roughly 200 million years old, dating back to the dawn of the Jurassic Period. Much of the Wilmcote Limestone is very fine-grained, blue-grey when fresh, fossils are quite rare, except in the lowest beds. It was formerly used for a variety of purposes, including walling, building, paving, gravestones, cement-making and it is no longer quarried, and most of the old quarries are either infilled or overgrown. Very little life could tolerate the stagnant conditions on the seabed, as a consequence the mud was seldom disturbed, which is why the fine, paper-like layering is preserved. Above the sea bed, the shallower waters supported ammonites, fish and their remains were discovered in the Wilmcote Limestone quarries during the nineteenth century. The Warwickshire Museum houses a collection of fossils and some are on display at the Market Hall Museum in Warwick. The Blue Lias is a prevalent feature of the cliffs around Lyme Regis and Charmouth, on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, where it exists in layers of limestone interspersed with softer clay. It is also notable for its presence in Somerset, particularly around the Polden Hills, Keinton Mandeville and Glastonbury area and it also appears near Whitby in Yorkshire and Southam in Warwickshire where a pub is named after it. There are outcrops along the coast of South Wales, notably that of the Vale of Glamorgan, the type section of the Blue Lias is at Saltford near Bath. Blue Lias is useful as a stone, and as a source of lime for making lime mortar
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Clay
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Clay is a fine-grained natural rock or soil material that combines one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure. Clays are plastic due to water content and become hard, brittle. Depending on the content in which it is found, clay can appear in various colours from white to dull grey or brown to deep orange-red. Although many naturally occurring deposits include both silts and clay, clays are distinguished from other fine-grained soils by differences in size, silts, which are fine-grained soils that do not include clay minerals, tend to have larger particle sizes than clays. There is, however, some overlap in size and other physical properties. The distinction between silt and clay varies by discipline, geologists and soil scientists usually consider the separation to occur at a particle size of 2 µm, sedimentologists often use 4–5 μm, and colloid chemists use 1 μm. Geotechnical engineers distinguish between silts and clays based on the plasticity properties of the soil, as measured by the soils Atterberg limits, ISO14688 grades clay particles as being smaller than 2 μm and silt particles as being larger. These solvents, usually acidic, migrate through the rock after leaching through upper weathered layers. In addition to the process, some clay minerals are formed through hydrothermal activity. There are two types of deposits, primary and secondary. Primary clays form as residual deposits in soil and remain at the site of formation, secondary clays are clays that have been transported from their original location by water erosion and deposited in a new sedimentary deposit. Clay deposits are associated with very low energy depositional environments such as large lakes. Depending on the source, there are three or four main groups of clays, kaolinite, montmorillonite-smectite, illite, and chlorite. Chlorites are not always considered to be a clay, sometimes being classified as a group within the phyllosilicates. There are approximately 30 different types of clays in these categories. Varve is clay with visible annual layers, which are formed by deposition of those layers and are marked by differences in erosion. This type of deposit is common in glacial lakes
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Mudstone
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Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope, with increased pressure over time, the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the appearance of fissility or parallel layering. This finely bedded material that splits readily into thin layers is called shale, the lack of fissility or layering in mudstone may be due to either original texture or the disruption of layering by burrowing organisms in the sediment prior to lithification. Mud rocks such as mudstone and shale comprise some 65% of all sedimentary rocks, mudstone looks like hardened clay and, depending upon the circumstances under which it was formed, it may show cracks or fissures, like a sun-baked clay deposit. Mudstone can be separated into categories, Siltstone – more than half of the composition is silt-sized particles. Claystone – more than half of the composition is clay-sized particles, mudstone – hardened mud, a mix of silt and clay sized particles. Mudstone can include, Shale – exhibits lamination or fissility, argillite – has undergone low-grade metamorphism. In the Dunham classification of limestones, a mudstone is a carbonate rock that contains less than 10% allochems in a carbonate mud matrix. As defined by the Dunham classification, a mudstone is more or less synonymous with calcilutite, on December 13,2016, NASA reported further evidence supporting habitability on the planet Mars as the Curiosity rover climbed higher, studying younger layers, on Mount Sharp. Also reported, the soluble element boron was detected for the first time on Mars. Since landing on Mars in August 2012, Curiosity has driven 15.0 km, mudstone on planet Mars Aeolis quadrangle Composition of Mars Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory Tonstein
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Milankovitch cycles
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Milankovitch cycles describes the collective effects of changes in the Earths movements on its climate over thousands of years. The term is named after Serbian geophysicist and astronomer Milutin Milanković, the Earths orbit varies between nearly circular and mildly elliptical. When the orbit is more elongated, there is variation in the distance between the Earth and the Sun, and in the amount of solar radiation, at different times in the year. In addition, the tilt of the Earth, which causes the seasons as the Earth revolves around the Sun. A greater tilt makes the seasons more extreme, finally, the direction in the fixed stars pointed to by the Earths axis changes, while the Earths elliptical orbit around the Sun rotates. The combined effect of the two precessions is a cycle in which proximity to the Sun occurs during different astronomical seasons, if the Earth is closer to the Sun while the northern or southern hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, then both effects work together to heat that hemisphere. If the Earth is further from the Sun during summer, the greater distance slightly reduces the heat of summer, now, materials on Earth that have been unchanged for millennia are being studied to indicate the history of Earths climate. Analysis of deep-ocean cores and a paper by Hays, Imbrie. However, there are several observations that the hypothesis does not explain. The Earths rotation around its axis, and revolution around the Sun, the variations are complex, but a few cycles are dominant. Milankovitch studied changes in the eccentricity, obliquity, and precession of the Earths movements. These changes alter the amount and location of solar radiation reaching the Earth and this is known as solar forcing. Milankovitch emphasized the changes experienced at 65° north due to the amount of land at that latitude. Land masses change temperature more quickly than oceans, even though water is easier to heat because of the mixing of surface, the Earths orbit is an ellipse. Eccentricity measures the departure of this ellipse from circularity, the shape of the Earths orbit varies between nearly circular and mildly elliptical Its geometric or logarithmic mean is 0.0019. The major component of these occurs with a period of 413,000 years. Other components have 95, 000-year and 125, 000-year cycles and they loosely combine into a 100, 000-year cycle. The present eccentricity is 0.017 and decreasing, eccentricity varies primarily due to the gravitational pull of Jupiter and Saturn
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Lilstock
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Lilstock is a hamlet in the civil parish of Stringston within the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. It is 12 miles north-west of Bridgwater, and 8 miles north-east of Williton and it on the coast of Bridgwater Bay on the Bristol Channel, near the Hinkley Point nuclear power stations. It was recorded as Lytel-Stoke or Lulestock in the Domesday book and its name is said to have meant the stoc of Lylla and his people. Lilstock was an ancient parish, part of the Williton and Freemanners Hundred, in 1811210 acres of common land were enclosed as part of the Inclosure Acts. Lilstock became a parish in 1866, but in 1886 it was merged with Kilton to form the civil parish of Kilton with Lilstock, itself abolished in 1933. This sequence and the good Rhaetian succession beneath are repeatedly affected by faulting, making it of interest to geologists and it also displays coastal geomorphology which demonstrates a particularly well-developed series of intertidal shore platforms varying in width from about 200–600 m. The cliff and beach are rich in remains, including complete skeletons. Lilstock also yields ammonites, shells and fish remains, Lilstock appears to have been the old port of the Saxon settlement of Stogursey. The Acland baronets were the lords of the manor, around 1820 Sir John Acland built a boat house on the beach with a pier and breakwater to form Lilstock harbour. Coal was brought from Wales for domestic use on the Acland estate, pit props were the main export along with lime. By 1848 there were resident coastguards, and by 1855 a customs officer, about 1860 a stone pier was built from the north side of the harbour wall. By 1866 warehouses were standing beneath the cliff beside the harbour wall. The limestone carrier the Richard was wrecked at Lilstock in 1881, a plan for a ship canal from Seaton in Devon to terminate at Lilstock was considered by the Board of Admiralty in 1888. The harbour was abandoned following damage during a storm on the night of 28/29 December 1900. The sea off Lilstock has been used as an air gunnery practice range connected to RNAS Yeovilton, Lilstock Royal Navy Range served as a practice bombing range for fixed-wing aircraft using inert ordnance until 1995, when it was redesignated as a helicopter gunnery range. The small Church of St Andrew, with two rows of pews, features a 14th-century chancel arch. This arch is the remaining portion of the earlier church which was demolished in 1881 when the present structure was erected. The church was declared redundant in 1980, and the Norman font removed to Stogursey Church in 1981, the church was restored around 1993 but only holds one service a year
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Stratford-upon-Avon
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Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England, on the River Avon,101 miles north west of London,22 miles south east of Birmingham, and 8 miles south west of Warwick. The estimated population in 2007 was 25,505, increasing to 27,445 at the 2011 Census, Stratford was originally inhabited by Anglo-Saxons and remained a village before lord of the manor, John of Coutances, set out plans to develop it into a town in 1196. In that same year, Stratford was granted a charter from King Richard I to hold a market in the town. As a result, Stratford experienced an increase in trade and commerce as well as urban expansion, the town is a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of English playwright and poet William Shakespeare, and receives approximately 2.5 million visitors a year. The Royal Shakespeare Company resides in Stratfords Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the street was a Roman road which connected Icknield Street in Alcester to the Fosse Way. The ford, which has used as a crossing since Roman times. A survey of 1251-52 uses the name Stratford for the first time to identify Old Stratford, the name was used after that time to describe the area specifically surrounding the Holy Trinity Church and the street of Old Town. The settlement which became known as Stratford was first inhabited by Anglo-Saxons following their 7th century invasion of what would become known as Warwickshire. The land was owned by the church of Worcester and it remained a village until the late 12th century when it was developed into a town by lord of the manor, John of Coutances. John laid out a new plan in 1196 based on a grid system to expand Stratford. Additionally, a charter was granted to Stratford by King Richard I in 1196 which allowed a market to be held in the town. These two charters, which formed the foundations of Stratfords transformation from a village to a town, johns plans to develop Stratford into a town meant Stratford became a place of work for tradesmen and merchants. By 1252 the town had approximately 240 burgages, as well as shops, stalls, Stratfords new workers established a guild known as the Guild of the Holy Cross for their business and religious requirements. Many of the towns earliest and most important buildings are located along what is known as Stratfords Historic Spine, the route of the Historic Spine begins at Shakespeares Birthplace in Henley Street. It continues through Henley Street to the top end of Bridge Street and into High Street where many Elizabethan buildings are located, the route carries on through Chapel Street where Nashs House and New Place are sited. The Historic Spine continues along Church Street where Guild buildings are located dating back to the 15th century, the route then finishes in Old Town, which includes Halls Croft and the Holy Trinity Church. During Stratfords early expansion into a town, the access across the River Avon into and out of the town was over a wooden bridge. In 1480, a new masonry bridge was built to replace it called Clopton Bridge
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Wilmcote
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Wilmcote is a village, and since 2004 a separate civil parish, in the English county of Warwickshire, about 3 miles north of Stratford-upon-Avon. Prior to 2004, it was part of the parish as Aston Cantlow. It has a church, a school, a village hall, a village club, one small hotel, a shop. Visitors are attracted to Mary Ardens Farm, the home of Shakespeares mother, Wilmcote, listed as Wilmecote in the Domesday Book, is part of the lands of Osbern son of Richard, whose father was Richard FitzScrob, builder of Richards Castle. The entry reads, In Pathlow Hundred, also from Osbern, Urso hold 3 hides in Wilmcote. In lordship 2,2 slaves,2 villagers and 2 smallholders with 2 ploughs, the value was 30s, now 60s. Leofwin Doda held it freely before 1066, in 1228 William de Wilmecote was claiming the advowson of the chapel here against the Archdeacon of Gloucester. Palmer and Gibbs held jointly until 1575, when a partition was made, the descent of Palmers portion is not known, but Gibbss, which included Mary Ardens house, remained in the family until another George Gibbs sold it to Matthew Walford of Claverdon in 1704. Walfords son and heir, also Matthew, married Elizabeth Jones and died in 1729, whatever manorial rights may have attached to this property had by now disappeared. Today the area has many small disused quarries, mostly filled in, a larger quarry, which has not been filled in, is now a nature reserve. There are remains of lime kilns, built to turn the limestone into cement, Wilmcote stone splits well into sheets and was used for paving as well as for building. It was used for paving the floors in the United Kingdom Houses of Parliament when these were rebuilt in the nineteenth century, the last of the quarries closed in the early twentieth century, but they have left a great legacy for the village. There are several rows of former workers cottages, built in Wilmcote stone. The quarries were among the reasons why the canal and railway were routed through Wilmcote, the first Wilmcote railway station opened in 1860, on a site alongside the canal wharves, it was replaced by the present station when the line was doubled in 1908. Wilmcote is part of the Aston Cantlow ward of Stratford on Avon District Council, nationally it is part of Stratford on Avon constituency, whose member of parliament following the 2010 election is Nadhim Zahawi of the Conservative Party. There was a chapel at Wilmcote, first mentioned in 1228 when the advowson was in dispute between William de Wilmcote, and the Archdeacon of Gloucester. In the 14th century the advowson was held with the manor of Little Wilmcote, the chaplains were instituted and inducted by the vicars of Stratford. The modern church of St. Andrew, built in 1841, is a monument to the influence of the Oxford Movement in the parish
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Ichthyosaur
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Ichthyosaurs belong to the order known as Ichthyosauria or Ichthyopterygia. In the Late Cretaceous, ichthyosaurs became extinct for unknown reasons, science became aware of the existence of ichthyosaurs during the early nineteenth century when the first complete skeletons were found in England. In 1834, the order Ichthyosauria was named, later that century, many excellently preserved ichthyosaur fossils were discovered in Germany, including soft tissue remains. Since the late century, there has been a revived interest in the group leading to an increased number of named ichthyosaurs from all continents. Ichthyosaur species varied from one to sixteen metres in length. Ichthyosaurs resembled both modern fish and dolphins and their limbs had been fully transformed into flippers, which sometimes contained a very large number of digits and phalanges. At least some species possessed a dorsal fin and their heads were pointed, the jaws often equipped with conical teeth to catch smaller prey. Some species had larger bladed teeth to attack large animals, the eyes were very large, probably for deep diving. The neck was short and later species had a stiff trunk. These also had a vertical tail fin, used for a powerful propulsive stroke. The vertebral column, made of simplified disc-like vertebrae, continued into the lobe of the tail fin. Ichthyosaurs were air-breathing, bore live young, and were probably warm-blooded, the first known illustrations of ichthyosaur bones, vertebrae and limb elements were published by the Welshman Edward Lhuyd in his Lithophylacii Brittannici Ichnographia of 1699. Lhuyd thought that they represented fish remains, in 1708, the Swiss naturalist Johann Jakob Scheuchzer described two ichthyosaur vertebrae assuming they belonged to a man drowned in the Universal Deluge. In 1766, a jaw with teeth was found at Weston near Bath. In 1783, this piece was exhibited by the Society for Promoting Natural History as those of a crocodilian, in 1779, ichthyosaur bones were illustrated in John Walcotts Descriptions and Figures of Petrifications. Towards the end of the century, British fossil collections quickly increased in size. Those of the naturalists Ashton Lever and John Hunter were acquired in their totality by museums, later, it was established that they contained dozens of ichthyosaur bones and teeth. The bones had typically been labelled as belonging to fish, dolphins or crocodiles, the demand by collectors led to more intense commercial digging activities
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Plesiosauria
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The Plesiosauria or plesiosaurs are an order or clade of Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic Period, possibly in the Rhaetian stage and they had a worldwide oceanic distribution. Plesiosaurs were among the first fossil reptiles discovered, in the beginning of the nineteenth century, scientists realised how distinctive their build was and they were named as a separate order in 1835. The first plesiosaurian genus, the eponymous Plesiosaurus, was named in 1821, since then, more than a hundred valid species have been described. In the early twenty-first century, the number of discoveries has increased, leading to an understanding of their anatomy, relationships. Plesiosaurs had a flat body and a short tail. Their limbs had evolved into four long flippers, which were powered by muscles attached to wide bony plates formed by the shoulder girdle. The flippers made a movement through the water. Plesiosaurs breathed air, and bore live young, there are indications that they were warm-blooded, plesiosaurs showed two main morphological types. Some species, with the build, had long necks and small heads. Other species, some of them reaching a length of up to seventeen metres, had the pliosauromorph build with a neck and a large head. The two types are related to the strict division of the Plesiosauria into two suborders, the long-necked Plesiosauroidea and the short-neck Pliosauroidea. Modern research, however, indicates that several long-necked groups might have had some short-necked members or vice versa, therefore, the purely descriptive terms plesiosauromorph and pliosauromorph have been introduced, which do not imply a direct relationship. Plesiosauroidea and Pliosauroidea today have a limited meaning. The term plesiosaur is properly used to refer to the Plesiosauria as a whole, but informally it is meant to indicate only the long-necked forms. Skeletal elements of plesiosaurs are among the first fossils of extinct reptiles recognised as such, the Welshman Edward Lhuyd in his Lithophylacii Brittannici Ichnographia from 1699 also included depictions of plesiosaur vertebrae that again were considered fish vertebrae or Ichthyospondyli. In 1719, William Stukeley described a skeleton of a plesiosaur. The stone plate came from a quarry at Fulbeck and had used, with the fossil at its underside
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Warwick
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Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon,11 miles south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa, at the 2011 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 31,345. There was human activity at Warwick as early as the Neolithic period and it was a Saxon burh in the 9th century, Warwick Castle was established in 1068 as part of the Norman conquest of England. Warwick School claims to be the oldest boys school in the country, the earldom of Warwick was created in 1088 and the earls controlled the town in the medieval period and built town walls, of which Eastgate and Westgate survive. The castle developed into a fortress and then a country house and is today a popular tourist attraction. The Great Fire of Warwick in 1694 destroyed much of the medieval town, though Warwick did not become industrialised in the 19th century, it has experienced growth since 1801 when the population was 5,592. Racing Club Warwick F. C. founded in 1919, is based in the town, the town is administered by Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council has its headquarters in Warwick. Human activity on the site of the dates back to the Neolithic. From the 6th century onwards, Warwick has been continuously inhabited and it was one of ten burhs built to defend the kingdom of Mercia against the Danes. Warwick was chosen as the site for one of these fortifications because of its proximity to the important transport routes of the Fosse Way, in the early 10th century a new shire was founded with Warwick as its administrative centre, giving the settlement new importance. The name Warwick means dwellings by the weir, in 1050 the Danes invaded Mercia and burned down much of Warwick including the nunnery. William the Conqueror founded Warwick Castle in 1068 on his way to Yorkshire to deal with rebellion in the north, building a castle within a pre-existing settlement could require demolishing properties on the site, and in the case of Warwick four houses were pulled down. The castle was within the larger Anglo-Saxon burh and a new wall was created close to the rampart of the burh. In the medieval period Warwick remained under the control of various Earls of Warwick, mostly of the Beauchamp family, today the only remains of the town walls are the east and west gatehouses. The eastern gatehouse is now a home, but formerly served as part of the Kings High School. Warwick was not incorporated as a borough until 1545, the towns Priory was founded in 1142 on the site of the current Priory Park. During the English Civil War the town and castle were garrisoned for Parliament, the garrison, under Sir Edward Peyto, withstood a two-week siege by the Royalists. Later musters from 1644 to 1646 record a garrison of up to 350 men under the command of Colonel William Purefoy, the middle of the 17th century also saw the founding of Castle Hill Baptist Church, one of the oldest Baptist churches in the world
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Lyme Regis
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Lyme Regis /ˌlaɪmˈriːdʒɪs/ is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and 25 miles east of Exeter. The town lies in Lyme Bay, on the English Channel coast at the Dorset–Devon border and it is nicknamed The Pearl of Dorset. The town is noted for the found in the cliffs and beaches. The town was home to Admiral Sir George Somers, its one-time mayor and he founded the English colonial settlement of the Somers Isles, better known as Bermuda. Lyme Regis is twinned with St. Georges, Bermuda, in July 2015 Lyme Regis was also tripled with Jamestown, Virginia to form the Historic Atlantic Triangle between Lyme, St Georges and Jamestown. In the 2011 Census the towns parish and the ward had a population of 3,671. In Saxon times, the abbots of Sherborne Abbey had salt-boiling rights on land adjacent to the River Lym, Lyme is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. In the 13th century, it developed as one of the major British ports, a Royal Charter was granted by King Edward I in 1284 when Regis was added to the towns name. The charter was confirmed by Queen Elizabeth I in 1591, John Leland visited the town in the 16th century and described it as a praty market town set in the rootes of an high rokky hille down to the hard shore. There cummith a shalow broke from the hilles about a three miles by north, and cummith fleting on great stones through a bridge in the botom. In 1644, during the English Civil War, Parliamentarians withstood a siege of the town by Royalist forces under Prince Maurice. The Duke of Monmouth landed at Lyme Regis at start of the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, on New Years Day,1915, the H. M. S. Formidable was torpedoed, the first major U-boat loss of World War I, a local lifeboat delivered bodies to the Pilot Boat Inn on Bridge Street. Lassie, the dog of the Inns owner, licked the face of Seaman Cowan, believed dead, the namesake of the cross-breed became a legend of books, radio, film and television. In 1965, the railway station was closed, in the Beeching Axe. The station was dismantled and rebuilt at Alresford, on the Mid Hants Watercress Railway in Hampshire, the route to Lyme Regis was notable for being operated by aged Victorian locomotives. One of these Adams Radial Tank engines is now preserved on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex, West Country Class steam locomotive No.34009 was named Lyme Regis after the town. In 2005, as part of the bicentenary of Admiral Nelsons victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, the actor playing the part of Trafalgar messenger Lieutenant Lapenotiere was welcomed at Lyme Regis
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Charmouth
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Charmouth is a village and civil parish at the mouth of the River Char in West Dorset, England. Dorset County Council estimate that in 2013 the population of the parish was 1,310. In the 2011 census the population of the parish, combined with the parish of Catherston Leweston to the north, was 1,352. The history of Charmouth dates back to the Iron Age when a Celtic tribe, evidence of hill forts can still be seen in the area. The name Charmouth originated from the Saxon Cerne meaning stony river, historian George Roberts wrote, During the Saxon period, the neighbouring coast was particularly subject to the invasions of the Danes, concerning whom so much has been written. In 787, the Danes, Northern men, or Normans, a. D.833, according to the Saxon Chronicle, though some of our historians place the event in 831 or 832, a dreadful battle was fought at Charmouth. The Danes having met with repulses in other parts of the kingdom sailed to Charmouth where having landed, Speed says, they made cruel ravage and slaughter. Their fleet consisted of 35 ships, containing a powerful army, their force, Huntingdon remarks, must have amounted to 17,500 men. Egbert collected the whole force of the county, and marched to attack them, after they had continued their ravages, according to Matthew of Westminster, about a twelve month. The king had nearly succeeded in cutting them off as they were forming, he threw them into great confusion, the Saxons were routed, the night alone prevented their destruction by the infuriated invaders, by the favour of which, Speed says, the king hardly escaped. Among the number of the slain were two earls, his officers, Dudda and Osmond, Wigen, bishop of Sherborne. The Danes, finding a settlement would be liable to the attacks of the brave Egbert, retired to their ships with precipitation and they continued to hover about the coast. In 840, they effected a landing on the same spot, a successive series of invasions followed. In 1086 in the Domesday Book Charmouth was recorded as Cernemude and it was in Whitchurch Canonicorum Hundred and the tenant-in-chief was Count Robert of Mortain. A small trading ship was bound for St Malo. On the following day Charles left Charmouth pursued by troops, who were alerted to his presence by an employee of the inn. The buildings on either side of Charmouths main street vary in age, some of the cottages date from the 17th or 18th centuries. A number of buildings in the village have listed building status, abbots House is a grade II listed, early 16th-century house that was re-faced in the 18th century
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Jurassic Coast
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The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about 96 mi, the site spans 185 million years of geological history, coastal erosion having exposed an almost continuous sequence of rock formation covering the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. At different times, this area has been desert, shallow sea and marsh. Natural features seen on this stretch of coast include arches, pinnacles, in some places the sea has broken through resistant rocks to produce coves with restricted entrances, and in one place, the Isle of Portland is connected to the land by a narrow spit. In some parts of the coast, landslides are common and these have exposed a wide range of fossils, the different rock types each having its own typical fauna and flora, thus providing evidence of how animals and plants evolved in this region. The area around Lulworth Cove contains a fossil forest, and 71 different rock strata have been identified at Lyme Regis, each with its own species of ammonite. The fossil collector Mary Anning lived here and her discoveries of marine reptiles. The Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre provides information on the heritage coast, the Jurassic Coast stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of 96 mi. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2001, the Jurassic Coast was the first wholly natural World Heritage Site to be designated in the United Kingdom. At Orcombe Point, the Geoneedle, an acute pyramidal sculpture, marks the end of the heritage site. The cliffs on part of the coast are being eroded as sections crumble away. The fossils found in the area and the coastal features of this dynamic coast, have advanced the study of earth sciences for more than two hundred years. The area covered by the designation comprises the land between the low water mark and the top of the cliffs or the back of the beach. The fossils found in abundance along this coastline provide evidence of how animals, during the Triassic this area was a desert, while in the Jurassic it was part of a tropical sea, and in the Cretaceous it was covered by swamps. Fossil groups found here include crustaceans, insects, molluscs, echinoderms, fish, amphibians, reptiles, at Lulworth Cove there is a fossil forest of conifers, tree-ferns and cycads. The Jurassic Coast consists of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous cliffs, spanning the Mesozoic, documenting 185 million years of geological history. The site can be best viewed from the sea, when the nature of the rock strata becomes apparent. Further east at Ladram Bay. Around Lyme Regis and Charmouth the cliffs are of Jurassic clays and shale, chesil Beach is a good example of a barrier beach and stretches for 18 mi from Burton Bradstock to the Isle of Portland
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Dorset
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Dorset /ˈdɔːrsᵻt/ is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the county, which is governed by Dorset County Council. Covering an area of 2,653 square kilometres, Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, the county town is Dorchester which is in the south. After the reorganisation of government in 1974 the countys border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth. Around half of the lives in the South East Dorset conurbation. The county has a history of human settlement stretching back to the Neolithic era. The Romans conquered Dorsets indigenous Celtic tribe, and during the early Middle Ages, the first recorded Viking raid on the British Isles occurred in Dorset during the eighth century, and the Black Death entered England at Melcombe Regis in 1348. During the Second World War, Dorset was heavily involved in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy, the former was the sailing venue in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and both have clubs or hire venues for sailing, Cornish pilot gig rowing, sea kayaking and powerboating. Dorset has a varied landscape featuring broad elevated chalk downs, steep limestone ridges, over half the county is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Three-quarters of its coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast Natural World Heritage Site due to its geological and it features notable landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door. Agriculture was traditionally the major industry of Dorset but is now in decline, there are no motorways in Dorset but a network of A roads cross the county and two railway main lines connect to London. Dorset has ports at Poole, Weymouth and Portland, and an international airport, the county has a variety of museums, theatres and festivals, and is host to one of Europes largest outdoor shows. It is the birthplace of Thomas Hardy, who used the county as the setting of his novels. Dorset derives its name from the county town of Dorchester, the Romans established the settlement in the 1st century and named it Durnovaria which was a Latinised version of a Common Brittonic word possibly meaning place with fist-sized pebbles. It is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in AD845 and in the 10th century the countys archaic name, the first human visitors to Dorset were Mesolithic hunters, from around 8000 BC. The first permanent Neolithic settlers appeared around 3000 BC and were responsible for the creation of the Dorset Cursus, from 2800 BC onwards Bronze Age farmers cleared Dorsets woodlands for agricultural use and Dorsets high chalk hills provided a location for numerous round barrows. During the Iron Age, the British tribe known as the Durotriges established a series of forts across the county—most notably Maiden Castle which is one of the largest in Europe. The Romans arrived in Dorset during their conquest of Britain in AD43, Maiden Castle was captured by a Roman legion under the command of Vespasian, and the Roman settlement of Durnovaria was established nearby
31.
Somerset
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Somerset is a county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the south-west. It is bounded to the north and west by the Severn Estuary and its traditional border with Gloucestershire is the River Avon. Somerset is a county of rolling hills such as the Blackdown Hills, Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills and Exmoor National Park. There is evidence of occupation from Paleolithic times, and of subsequent settlement in the Roman. The county played a significant part in the consolidation of power and rise of King Alfred the Great, and later in the English Civil War, the city of Bath is famous for its substantial Georgian architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Somersets name derives from Old English Sumorsǣte, short for Sumortūnsǣte, an alternative suggestion is the name derives from Seo-mere-saetan meaning settlers by the sea lakes. The Old English name is used in the motto of the county, Sumorsǣte ealle, adopted as the motto in 1911, the phrase is taken from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Somerset settlement names are mostly Anglo-Saxon in origin, but some hill names include Brittonic Celtic elements, for example, an Anglo-Saxon charter of 682 refers to Creechborough Hill as the hill the British call Cructan and we call Crychbeorh. Some modern names are Brythonic in origin, such as Tarnock, the caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the Palaeolithic period, and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at Cheddar Gorge. Bones from Goughs Cave have been dated to 12,000 BC, examples of cave art have been found in Avelines Hole. Some caves continued to be occupied until modern times, including Wookey Hole, the Somerset Levels—specifically dry points at Glastonbury and Brent Knoll— also have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been settled by Mesolithic hunters. Travel in the area was facilitated by the construction of one of the worlds oldest known engineered roadways, the Sweet Track, the exact age of the henge monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown, but it is believed to be Neolithic. There are numerous Iron Age hill forts, some of which, like Cadbury Castle, on the authority of the future emperor Vespasian, as part of the ongoing expansion of the Roman presence in Britain, the Second Legion Augusta invaded Somerset from the south-east in AD47. The county remained part of the Roman Empire until around AD409, a variety of Roman remains have been found, including Pagans Hill Roman temple in Chew Stoke, Low Ham Roman Villa and the Roman Baths that gave their name to the city of Bath. After the Romans left, Britain was invaded by Anglo-Saxon peoples, by AD600 they had established control over much of what is now England, but Somerset was still in native British hands. The Saxon royal palace in Cheddar was used several times in the 10th century to host the Witenagemot. After the Norman Conquest, the county was divided into 700 fiefs, Somerset contains HM Prison Shepton Mallet, which was Englands oldest prison still in use prior to its closure in 2013, having opened in 1610. In the English Civil War Somerset was largely Parliamentarian, with key engagements being the Sieges of Taunton, in 1685 the Monmouth Rebellion was played out in Somerset and neighbouring Dorset
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Polden Hills
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They are now bisected at their western end by the M5 motorway and a railway, the Bristol and Exeter Railway, part of the Great Western Main Line. The hills stretch from Puriton, near Bridgwater, in the west, to Street, the ridge of the hill once accommodated a Roman road, from Ilchester to the port of Combwich. Roman and Iron Age objects from the Polden Hill Hoard are now in the British Museum and this road crossed the River Parrett by means of a ford, at the White House, on the Pawlett Hams. This western extension forms part of a Saxon route, the river crossing could only be used a few hours per day at low tide and was used by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in the 1790s when he stayed at Nether Stowey, to travel to and from Bristol. It went out of use as other roads were improved and the White House, the modern road, now the A39, is carried on a causeway from the Kings Sedgemoor Drain, at Bawdrip, to Bridgwater. The Poldens are a low ridge of Blue Lias with alternating bands of limestone. Blue Lias is believed to have been quarried on the Polden Hills in the 15th century, and was quarried in Puriton from the early 19th century until the 1973, when the local cement works closed. Great Breach and Copley Woods near Compton Dundon is a Nature Conservation Review Woodland Site and it has been designated as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the invertebrate population. The former medieval planned town of Caput Montis was located at the end of the Polden Hills. Caput Montis failed as a town and now exists as the earth works of a Motte and Bailey in the hamlet of Downend. There was also at Dunball a railway Halt, a Hotel, a Post Office, there are a number of small villages situated on both slopes of the ridge, many of which are named in the Domesday Book. Most of the villages, from Street to Cossington. They once formed parts of the Estates of Glastonbury Abbey, Puriton - Bawdrip - Woolavington - Cossington - Stawell - Chilton Polden - Edington - Catcott - Shapwick - Ashcott - Walton - Street Geology of Somerset Somerset Levels
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Glastonbury
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Glastonbury /ˈɡlæstənbri/ is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels,23 miles south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census, Glastonbury is less than 1 mile across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury. Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town has been inhabited since Neolithic times. Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue and Sharpham Park approximately 2 miles west of Glastonbury, centwine was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey, which dominated the town for the next 700 years. One of the most important abbeys in England, it was the site of Edmund Ironsides coronation as King of England in 1016, the Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a project managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury and stuck his staff into the ground, the presence of a landscape zodiac around the town has been suggested but no evidence has been discovered. The Glastonbury Festival, held in the village of Pilton. The Neolithic people continued to exploit the reedswamps for their natural resources, tree-ring dating of the timbers has enabled very precise dating of the track, showing it was built in 3807 or 3806 BC. It has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world, the track was discovered in the course of peat digging in 1970, and is named after its discoverer, Ray Sweet. It extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, and a ridge of ground at Shapwick. The track is one of a network of tracks that crossed the Somerset Levels. Since the discovery of the Sweet Track, it has determined that it was built along the route of an even earlier track. Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue, on the Somerset Levels near Godney, some 3 miles north west of Glastonbury. The village was built in about 300 BC and occupied into the early Roman period when it was abandoned and it was built on a morass on an artificial foundation of timber filled with brushwood, bracken, rubble and clay. Sharpham Park is a 300-acre historic park,2 miles west of Glastonbury, the origin of the name Glastonbury is unclear but when the settlement is first recorded in the 7th and the early 8th century, it was called Glestingaburg. It may derive from a person or kindred group named Glast, upon arrival there he beholds a hovering mansion inhabited by handsomely dressed courtiers and King Gwyn on a throne of gold, holy water disperses the apparition. This is from Druid mythology, in which the mansion is made of glass so as to receive the spirits of the dead, accordingly, Williamson posits that the Tor was named after the glassy mansion of the dead
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Whitby
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Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Borough of Scarborough and English county of North Yorkshire. It is located within the boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral. Its East Cliff is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey, where Cædmon, the fishing port developed during the Middle Ages, supporting important herring and whaling fleets, and was where Captain Cook learned seamanship. Tourism started in Whitby during the Georgian period and developed further on the arrival of the railway in 1839, Jet and alum were mined locally. Whitby Jet, which was mined by the Romans and Victorians, the earliest record of a permanent settlement is in 656, when as Streanœhealh it was the place where Oswy, the Christian king of Northumbria, founded the first abbey, under the abbess Hilda. The Synod of Whitby was held there in 664, in 867, the monastery was destroyed by Viking raiders. Another monastery was founded in 1078 and it was in this period that the town gained its current name, Whitby. The abbey ruin at the top of the East Cliff is the towns oldest and most prominent landmark, other significant features include the swing bridge, which crosses the River Esk and the harbour, which is sheltered by the grade II listed East and West piers. The towns maritime heritage is commemorated by statues of Captain Cook and William Scoresby, the town also has a strong literary tradition and has featured in literary works, television and cinema, most famously in Bram Stokers novel Dracula. As a result, tourism and some forms of fishing remain the mainstay of its economy and it is the closest port to a proposed wind farm development in the North Sea,47 miles from York and 22 miles from Middlesbrough. According to the 2011 UK census, the town had a population of 13,213, Whitby was called Streanæshalc, Streneshalc, Streoneshalch, Streoneshalh, and Streunes-Alae in Lindissi in records of the 7th and 8th centuries. Prestebi, meaning the habitation of priests in Old Norse, is an 11th century name and its name was recorded as Hwitebi and Witebi, meaning the white settlement in Old Norse, in the 12th century, Whitebi in the 13th century and Qwiteby in the 14th century. A monastery was founded at Streanœhealh in AD657 by King Oswiu or Oswy of Northumbria, as an act of thanksgiving, after defeating Penda, at its foundation, the abbey was an Anglo-Saxon double monastery for men and women. Its first abbess, the royal princess Hild, was venerated as a saint. The abbey became a centre of learning and here Cædmon the cowherd was miraculously transformed into a poet whose poetry is an example of Anglo-Saxon literature. The abbey became the royal nunnery of the kingdom of Deira. The Synod of Whitby, in 664, established the Roman date of Easter in Northumbria at the expense of the Celtic one, the monastery was destroyed between 867 and 870 in a series of raids by Vikings from Denmark under their leaders Ingwar and Ubba
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Yorkshire
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Yorkshire, formally known as the County of York, is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Due to its size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been undertaken over time by its subdivisions. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as a geographical territory, Yorkshire has sometimes been nicknamed Gods Own County or Gods Own Country. Yorkshire Day, held on 1 August, is a celebration of the culture of Yorkshire. Yorkshire is now divided between different official regions, most of the county falls within Yorkshire and the Humber. The extreme northern part of the county falls within North East England, Small areas in the west of the historic county now form part of North West England, following boundary changes in 1974. Yorkshire or the County of York was so named as it is the shire of the city of York local /ˈjɔːk/ or Yorks Shire, York comes from the Viking name for the city, Jórvík. Shire is from Old English, scir meaning care or official charge, the shire suffix is locally pronounced /-ʃə/ shuh, or occasionally /-ʃiə/, a homophone of sheer. Early inhabitants of Yorkshire were Celts, who formed two tribes, the Brigantes and the Parisi. The Brigantes controlled territory which later became all of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the tribe controlled most of Northern England and more territory than any other Celtic tribe in England. That they had the Yorkshire area as their heartland is evident in that Isurium Brigantum was the town of their civitas under Roman rule. Six of the nine Brigantian poleis described by Claudius Ptolemaeus in the Geographia fall within the historic county, the Parisi, who controlled the area that would become the East Riding of Yorkshire, might have been related to the Parisii of Lutetia Parisiorum, Gaul. Their capital was at Petuaria, close to the Humber estuary, initially, this situation suited both the Romans and the Brigantes, who were known as the most militant tribe in Britain. Queen Cartimandua left her husband Venutius for his bearer, Vellocatus. Cartimandua, due to her relationship with the Romans, was able to keep control of the kingdom. At the second attempt, Venutius seized the kingdom, but the Romans, under general Petillius Cerialis, the fortified city of Eboracum was named as capital of Britannia Inferior and joint-capital of all Roman Britain. During the two years before the death of Emperor Septimius Severus, the Roman Empire was run from Eboracum by him, another emperor, Constantius Chlorus, died in Yorkshire during a visit in 306 AD. This saw his son Constantine the Great proclaimed emperor in the city, in the early 5th century, the Roman rule ceased with the withdrawal of the last active Roman troops
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Southam
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Southam is a small market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. Southam is on the River Stowe, which flows from Napton-on-the-Hill and joins Warwickshires River Itchen at Stoneythorpe, the town is about 7.5 miles east of Leamington Spa, about 10 miles from Rugby and Daventry,13 miles south of Coventry and 14 miles north of Banbury. The 2001 census recorded a population of 6,509. Southam was a Royal manor until AD998, when Ethelred the Unready granted it to Earl Leofwine, when Coventry Priory was founded in 1043, Leofwines son Leofric, Earl of Mercia granted Southam to it. The Domesday Book records the manor as Sucham, the Priory, which in the 12th century became the first Coventry Cathedral, kept Southam until the 16th century when it surrendered all its estates to the Crown in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The current Manor House is Grade II * listed and dates from the early 17th century, the present parish church of St James was built in the 14th century. In the 15th century the spire was added and the chancel was rebuilt, the naves clerestory and present roof were added in the 16th century, along with the present west door. St James is a Grade I listed building, in the medieval era the town minted its own local currency because local people found regular English currency too high in value for everyday use. In the English Civil War Charles I used Southams mint to make new coins to pay his troops, the building is early 16th century and is now the Old Mint public house. Southams Holy Well, in the picturesque Stowe river valley, is a Grade II listed building and scheduled Ancient Monument, the Well was used in medieval times by local monks and for hundreds of years as the towns principal water supply. Water from a mineral spring feeds the semi-circular Well and pours through the mouths of carved stone gargoyles into the river. The water from the Well was said to cure eye complaints, in the 1540s John Leland visited the town and described it as a modest market town of a single street. William Shakespeare mentions Southam in Henry VI, part 3, Act V, Scene I, Lines 10–16, WARWICK Say, Somerville, what says my loving son. Charles I passed through Southam just before the outbreak of the Civil War and apparently was not made welcome by the townsfolk, the Battle of Southam is claimed by locals to have been the first battle of the English Civil Wars. Later that year, Charles stayed in Southam before the Battle of Edgehill on 23 October 1642, in 1645 Oliver Cromwell and 7,000 Parliamentary troops stayed in the town. In the stagecoach era Southam became an important stop on the road between Coventry and Oxford. Many old coaching inns remain in the town, however, few buildings in Southam date from before 1741, when a large fire devastated the town. Southam was never on a railway, British Railways closed the station to goods in 1963 and passengers in 1964
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Pub
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A pub, or public house, is an establishment licensed to sell alcoholic drinks, which traditionally include beer, ale and cider. It is a relaxed, social drinking establishment and a prominent part of British, Irish, New Zealand, Canadian, in many places, especially in villages, a pub is the focal point of the community. In his 17th century diary Samuel Pepys described the pub as the heart of England, Pubs can be traced back to Roman taverns, through the Anglo-Saxon alehouse to the development of the tied house system in the 19th century. In 1393, King Richard II of England introduced legislation that pubs had to display a sign outdoors to make them easily visible for passing ale tasters who would assess the quality of ale sold, most pubs focus on offering beers, ales and similar drinks. As well, pubs often sell wines, spirits, and soft drinks, meals, the owner, tenant or manager is known as the pub landlord or publican. The pub quiz was established in the UK in the 1970s and these alehouses quickly evolved into meeting houses for the folk to socially congregate, gossip and arrange mutual help within their communities. Herein lies the origin of the public house, or Pub as it is colloquially called in England. They rapidly spread across the Kingdom, becoming so commonplace that in 965 King Edgar decreed that there should be no more than one alehouse per village. A traveller in the early Middle Ages could obtain overnight accommodation in monasteries, the Hostellers of London were granted guild status in 1446 and in 1514 the guild became the Worshipful Company of Innholders. A survey in 1577 of drinking establishment in England and Wales for taxation purposes recorded 14,202 alehouses,1,631 inns, Inns are buildings where travellers can seek lodging and, usually, food and drink. They are typically located in the country or along a highway, in Europe, they possibly first sprang up when the Romans built a system of roads two millennia ago. Some inns in Europe are several centuries old, in addition to providing for the needs of travellers, inns traditionally acted as community gathering places. In Europe, it is the provision of accommodation, if anything, the latter tend to provide alcohol, but less commonly accommodation. Famous London inns include The George, Southwark and The Tabard, there is however no longer a formal distinction between an inn and other kinds of establishment. In North America, the aspect of the word inn lives on in hotel brand names like Holiday Inn. The Inns of Court and Inns of Chancery in London started as ordinary inns where barristers met to do business, traditional English ale was made solely from fermented malt. The practice of adding hops to produce beer was introduced from the Netherlands in the early 15th century, alehouses would each brew their own distinctive ale, but independent breweries began to appear in the late 17th century. By the end of the century almost all beer was brewed by commercial breweries, the 18th century saw a huge growth in the number of drinking establishments, primarily due to the introduction of gin
38.
Vale of Glamorgan
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The Vale of Glamorgan, often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in Wales. With an economy based largely on agriculture and chemicals, it is the southernmost unitary authority in Wales, attractions include Barry Island Pleasure Park, the Barry Tourist Railway, Porthkerry Park, St Donats Castle, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and Cosmeston Medieval Village. It is also the location of Atlantic College, one of the United World Colleges, other towns include Penarth, Llantwit Major and Cowbridge. There are many villages in the county borough, the village would have consisted of a number of small stone round houses, or crofts, with thatched roofs. Clemenstone, to the west, was the seat of several high sheriffs of Glamorganshire, william Curre, known to have lived in Clemenstone in 1766, was also an occupant of Itton Court in Monmouthshire. In the early 19th century, Lady Sale née Wynch, wife of Sir Robert Sale, in 1974, the area became part of South Glamorgan, under the Local Government Act 1972. It created several problems in local governance, between the South Glamorgan County Council, Cardiff City Council and the Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council owing to their conflicting interests. It was a turbulent time for governance in the city of Cardiff, as for the first time in its history it had to authority with the county council. In April 1996, the Vale of Glamorgan became a county borough of Wales, located immediately to the west of Cardiff between the M4 motorway and the Severn Estuary, the Vale of Glamorgan covers 33,097 hectares and has 53 km of coastline. The largest centre of population is Barry, other towns include Cowbridge, Dinas Powys, Llantwit Major and Penarth. Much of the population inhabits villages, hamlets and individual farms, the area is low-lying, with a maximum height of 137.3 metres above sea level at Tair Onen to the east of Cowbridge. The borough borders Cardiff to the north east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, Bridgend to the north west and the Bristol Channel to the south. The yellow-grey cliffs on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast are unique on the Celtic Sea coastline as they are formed of a combination of limestone, shale. They were formed 200 million years ago when the area lay underneath a warm, shallow. Thus today the cliffs contain traces of Jurassic sea creatures, such as ammonites and this stratification can also be found on other parts of the Celtic seaboard, such as Bude in Cornwall, across the Bristol Channel. As the Glamorgan Heritage Coast faces westwards out to the Atlantic, it bears the brunt of onshore winds, ideal for surfing, but a nuisance for ships sailing up the Bristol Channel to Cardiff. As in North Cornwall and South-West Ireland, the fierce Atlantic gales created ideal conditions for deliberate shipwrecking, the Vale of Glamorgan was determined to be the wealthiest area in Wales in a 2003 survey conducted by Barclays Bank that measured disposable income. Chemical industries are located to the east of the port of Barry while further inland the main activity is agriculture, especially beef and dairy cattle, with marketing facilities at Cowbridge
39.
Saltford
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Saltford is a large village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, England. It lies between the cities of Bristol and Bath, and adjoins Keynsham on the same route and it lies on the A4 road and River Avon, to which the Saltford and Kelston locks provide access. The low-lying area is prone to flooding, there are four public houses in the village, The Bird in Hand, The Jolly Sailor, The Crown and The Riverside. Saltford possesses a number of listed buildings, since its completion it has been run by a voluntary charity, the Saltford Community Association. Its fund-raising committee not only raises the money to maintain and improve the Hall, the hall provides for local community events and services such as blood donation evenings, citizens advice, community support and entertainment. It has recently introduced a village festival. The parish of Saltford was part of the Keynsham Hundred, the parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept to cover the councils operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council provides an opinion on local planning applications and works with the district council officers on matters of planning enforcement, conservation matters and environmental issues are also of interest to the council. The Chair and Vice Chair of Saltford Parish Council are Councillor Duncan Hounsell, the parish falls within the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992. Saltford elects two councillors to the authority, Bath & North East Somerset Council every four years. Since B&NESs inception, Saltford has continuously elected two Conservative candidates, the sitting councillors are Francine Haeberling, first elected to B&NES in 1999, and Emma Dixon, first elected in 2015. Bath and North East Somersets area covers part of the county of Somerset. Its administrative headquarters is in Bath, between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996, it was the Wansdyke district and the City of Bath of the county of Avon. Before 1974 that the parish was part of the Keynsham Urban District, the parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of North East Somerset. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election and it is also part of the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects seven MEPs using the dHondt method of party-list proportional representation. St Marys Church, Saltford, is a Norman church which dates back to the 12th century and is a Grade II listed building, the tower dates from Saxon times, although it has been extensively repaired and the top 10 feet were added later. Saltford Manor House, which lies west of the church, dates from around 1160, the front facade of the house is newer and dates from the 17th century. The 18th-century Old Brass Mill is, like the Manor House, the Brass Mill was one of a series of mills along the Avon Valley which were powered by waterwheels
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Bath, Somerset
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Bath is a city in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, known for its Roman-built baths. In 2011, the population was 88,859, Bath is in the valley of the River Avon,97 miles west of London and 11 miles south-east of Bristol. The city became a World Heritage Site in 1987, the city became a spa with the Latin name Aquæ Sulis c. AD60 when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century and became a religious centre, the building was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. In the 17th century, claims were made for the properties of water from the springs. Many of the streets and squares were laid out by John Wood, the Elder, and in the 18th century the city became fashionable, Jane Austen lived in Bath in the early 19th century. Further building was undertaken in the 19th century and following the Bath Blitz in World War II, the city has software, publishing and service-oriented industries. Theatres, museums, and other cultural and sporting venues have helped make it a centre for tourism with more than one million staying visitors and 3.8 million day visitors to the city each year. There are several museums including the Museum of Bath Architecture, Victoria Art Gallery, Museum of East Asian Art, the city has two universities, the University of Bath and Bath Spa University, with Bath College providing further education. Sporting clubs include Bath Rugby and Bath City F. C. while TeamBath is the name for all of the University of Bath sports teams. Bath became part of the county of Avon in 1974, and, the hills in the locality such as Bathampton Down saw human activity from the Mesolithic period. Several Bronze Age round barrows were opened by John Skinner in the 18th century, solsbury Hill overlooking the current city was an Iron Age hill fort, and the adjacent Bathampton Camp may also have been one. A long barrow site believed to be from the Beaker people was flattened to make way for RAF Charmy Down, messages to her scratched onto metal, known as curse tablets, have been recovered from the sacred spring by archaeologists. The tablets were written in Latin, and cursed people whom the writers felt had wronged them, for example, if a citizen had his clothes stolen at the baths, he might write a curse, naming the suspects, on a tablet to be read by the goddess. A temple was constructed in AD 60–70, and a complex was built up over the next 300 years. Engineers drove oak piles into the mud to provide a stable foundation, in the 2nd century, the spring was enclosed within a wooden barrel-vaulted structure that housed the caldarium, tepidarium, and frigidarium. The town was given defensive walls, probably in the 3rd century. After the failure of Roman authority in the first decade of the 5th century, in March 2012 a hoard of 30,000 silver Roman coins, one of the largest discovered in Britain, was unearthed in an archaeological dig
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Lytes Cary
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Lytes Cary is a manor house with associated chapel and gardens near Charlton Mackrell and Somerton in Somerset, England. The property, owned by the National Trust, has parts dating to the 14th century, with other sections dating to the 15th, 16th, 18th, yet all parts blend to perfection with one another and with the gentle sunny landscape that surrounds them, comments Nikolaus Pevsner. The House is listed as Grade I by English Heritage, the chapel predates the existing house, having been built around 1343, and functioned as a chantry chapel, where masses could be said for the souls of the family, both living and dead. The great hall was added in the 15th century and the Oriel Room in the 16th, various renovations were undertaken during the 16th and 17th centuries after which the house fell into disrepair with the north range being demolished by the early 19th century. On his death in 1948 he left the house to the National Trust, the gardens are listed as Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England. The original 17th-century gardens have disappeared, however, the Jenners laid them out in an Arts and Crafts style with a series of rooms, which are separated from each other by high, neatly clipped box and yew hedges. These are complemented by ponds and walks in and between each of the rooms, the parkland surrounding the house includes the site of a deserted medieval settlement which is a scheduled monument. The unusual name derives from the Lyte family who lived at Lytes Cary for over four centuries, the first documentary evidence is from 1285 when it was known as Kari. William le Lyte was a tenant of the estate in 1286. The earliest surviving part of the manor and associated buildings is the chapel, sometime after the Lyte family sold the Manor in 1755, tenants moved in and the house gradually fell into disrepair. In 1907 Sir Walter Jenner of the Jenner baronets and son of the late Sir William Jenner, physician to Queen Victoria, at that time the Great Hall was being used as a cider store and the Great Parlour was full of farm equipment. Jenners brother Leopold had just bought and started to restore Avebury Manor in Wiltshire and he had the west range rebuilt in a plain William and Mary style by the architect C. E. Ponting, but left the historic core of the house mostly untouched. It incorporates carvings believed to be from the demolished St Benet Gracechurch, Jenner left the manor to the National Trust after he died in 1948. The house was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1959, the National Trust opened the west range as a holiday rental property in 2006. Only the older parts of the house are open to the public, the two-storey house and the chapel are built of the local Blue Lias stone. Parts of the house have mellow honey-coloured Hamstone dressings, especially around windows and at quoins, the roofs are stone tiled with some later terracotta tiles. The chapel predates the house, and functioned as a chantry chapel. It was built by Peter Lyte in about 1343, and was completed by 1358 and it has a small window, or squint, that permitted servants and others to observe communion from the house
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Hamstone
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Hamstone is the colloquial name given to stone from Ham Hill, Somerset, England. Hamstone is a Jurassic limestone from the Toarcian, or Upper Lias and it is a well cemented medium to coarse grained limestone characterised by its honey-gold colour and marked bedding planes. The stone contains thin beds of less well cemented material and some small clay inclusions and these areas weather differentially to give weathered hamstone its characteristic furrowed appearance. In the 19th century there were 24 small quarries operating on the hill employing some 200 men, in later Victorian times industrial quarrying really took off with upwards of 200 small family run quarries and masonry businesses operating on site. Today hamstone is only quarried in two areas on the top of Ham Hill, the southern, Norton Quarry extracts its stone from some 20–30 metres below the surface and is quarried by Harvey Stone. This quarry was reopened around 15 years ago, having been the last quarry abandoned in the 1930s due to there being, according to the masons working the hill no good quality stone left, both quarries are owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. The attractive colour also contributes to its being chosen by masons, Hamstone is featured in the medieval church towers throughout the county, and the town of South Petherton, for example, is built largely of hamstone. Besides being used for building, hamstone was also burnt locally in small kilns for the manufacture of lime and this was predominantly for local use as fertiliser. Some was used for the manufacture of builders mortar and limewash render, mortar made from hamstone invariably failed, often washing away, while limewash would blister and bubble, eventually falling from the wall. At least two lime kilns still exist, one close to the medieval hamlet of Witcombe, with another close to Norton Quarry. Technical Data Sheet Ham Hill Lower Bed Limestone Technical Data Sheet Ham Hill Middle Bed Limestone SOMERSET BUILDING STONE – A GUIDE Proposal to quarry Hamstone - planning application 2003
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Lime (material)
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Lime is a calcium-containing inorganic material in which carbonates, oxides, and hydroxides predominate. In the strict sense of the term, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide and it is also the name of the natural mineral CaO which occurs as a product of coal seam fires and in altered limestone xenoliths in volcanic ejecta. The word lime originates with its earliest use as building mortar and has the sense of sticking or adhering and these materials are still used in large quantities as building and engineering materials, as chemical feedstocks, and for sugar refining, among other uses. Lime industries and the use of many of the resulting products date from prehistoric times in both the Old World and the New World, Lime is used extensively for wastewater treatment with ferrous sulfate. The rocks and minerals from which these materials are derived, typically limestone or chalk, are composed primarily of calcium carbonate and they may be cut, crushed or pulverized and chemically altered. Lime kilns are the used for lime burning and slaking. When the term is encountered in a context, it usually refers to agricultural lime. Otherwise it most commonly means slaked lime, as the dangerous form is usually described more specifically as quicklime or burnt lime. In the lime industry, limestone is a term for rocks that contain 80% or more of calcium or magnesium carbonates, including marble, chalk, oolite. Further classification is by composition as high calcium, argillaceous, silicious, conglomerate, magnesian, dolomite, uncommon sources of lime include coral, sea shells, calcite, and ankerite. Limestone is extracted from quarries or mines, dry slaking is when quicklime is slaked with just enough water to hydrate the quicklime, but remain as a powder and is referred to as hydrated lime. In wet slaking, enough water, but not too much, is added to hydrate the quicklime to a referred to as lime putty. Because lime has a property with bricks and stones, it is often used as binding material in masonry works. It is also used in whitewashing as wall coat to adhere the whitewash onto the wall, the process by which limestone is converted to quicklime by heating, then to slaked lime by hydration, and naturally reverts to calcium carbonate by carbonation is called the lime cycle. The conditions and compounds present during each step of the cycle have a strong influence of the end product, thus the complex. An example is when slaked lime is mixed into a slurry with sand. When the masonry has been laid, the lime in the mortar slowly begins to react with carbon dioxide to form calcium carbonate according to the reaction. The carbon dioxide that takes part in reaction is principally available in the air or dissolved in rainwater so pure lime mortar will not recarbonate under water or inside a thick masonry wall
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Hydraulic lime
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Hydraulic lime is a general term for varieties of lime, or slaked lime, used to make lime mortar which set through hydration, thus they are called hydraulic. The other common types of lime mortar set through carbonation and are called air lime. Hydraulic lime provides an initial set and higher compressive strength than air lime. In the United States NHL may be called hydrated hydraulic lime per ASTM C-141 Standard Specification for Hydrated Hydraulic Lime for Structural Purposes, artificial hydraulic lime or artificial lime becomes hydraulic when hydraulic and/or pozzolan materials are added either before or after burning in a lime kiln. Formulated lime consists of. mainly of hydrated lime and or NHL with added hydraulic and/or pozzolanic material and it is identical to HL but its composition must be declared on the CE marking. Pozzolanic hydraulic lime is similar to HL or FL. Consists mainly of hydrated lime with one or more pozzolans with possible inclusion of inert filler, when Portland cement, even traces, is present, it has to be labeled as PHLc. Hydraulic lime is a building material for the following reasons. There is no need for expansion joints and it allows buildings to breathe, and does not trap moisture in the walls. It has a firing temperature than Portland cement, and is thus less polluting. Stone and brickwork bonded with lime is easier to re-use and it is less dense than cement, thus less cold bridging. Lime re-absorbs the carbon emitted by its calcination, thus partially offsetting the large amount emitted during its manufacture. The more hydraulic a lime, the less CO2 is reabsorbed during set, for example, 50% of CO2 is reabsorbed by NHL3.5 during the set and this meant that lime could be used in a wide variety of applications including floors and even vaults or domes. An example is the Pantheon in Rome, which has survived for two thousand years. The domes diameter is equal to its height from the floor and it is constructed from six different lime mixes, which change the properties and lightness of the material. Feebly hydraulic lime is used for work and external work in sheltered areas. Feebly hydraulic lime contains up to 10% clay/ clay mixed with other impurities and it might take one week or more to set after the addition of water. Setting is the process of taking the shape into which lime has been moulded
. PMID 22438869.