Thanks to Michael Fordy for sending this photo of one of the small bluestone fragments found in the topsoil at Silbury Hill. It's on display in the museum at Avebury. I have enlarged it and cropped the image, so it is now slightly fuzzy -- but although there was some discussion a while ago about the possibility that this might be a hornblende schist, it looks to me very much like a small fragment of spotted dolerite. I'd go with this identification until somebody informs me otherwise.
I'm not sure whether this is the same piece of bluestone as that photographed by Pete Glastonbury, and published on this blog 12 years ago. It looks as if it might be a different fragment -- but made of the same rock type.
6 comments:
Question is: are these Silbury Hill bluestones there because they are " adventitious "?
That's the standard explanation for all things inconvenient......
its the same stone.
PeteG
Thanks Pete. One pic of the top side and the other of the bottom side? It looks pretty fresh -- that suggests it is not heavily weathered -- and that in turn suggests a knock-off from something bigger......
yes its both sides. I know of 4 pieces found since the 1960s.
The top of the mound was changed by the Saxons and in 1776 by Lord Holbrok who planeted tree's on top but they didn't survive.
My guess is that the fragments were picked up at Stonehenge and given as offerings, probably by the MoonMaidens who used to dance naked on top the hill in the 1960's & 70s at Summer Solstice.
IMHO
PeteG
Interesting, Pete! So where does one find these Moon Maidens these days? They might be in possession of some useful data........
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