Stone in Archaeology Database


Barrington Clunch

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Local Name(s): Cambridgeshire Clunch,
Barrington Clunch.
Example of Barrington Clunch
Stone Group: Sedimentary
Stone Type: Chalk
Geology:
Era:   Mesozoic
Period:   Cretaceous
Epoch:   Lower
Geological Sub-Divisons:

Gault Clay. Grey Chalk. Lower Chalk.

General Colour Description:

A greyish white colour often with a greenish tinge. The latter due to the presence of glauconite,

Hand Specimen Description:

The stone is a fine grained, soft, well sorted limestone with a smooth feel. Its gritty texture is due to the presence of shell fragments (BRE: website).

General Comments:

'Clunch' is a quarryman's term for hard, well cemented chalk. It is a generic term commonly used throughout Cambridgeshire to indicate a rock from the same geological outcrop but from different localities (Muir 1986: 174-6).

Stone Identifiers: Calcareous,  Chalk.
Reacts dilute to HCl? Yes