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Six Corner Plantation Sarsen Stone, WICKEN BONHUNT, Uttlesford District, TL50783431, General geological site
Site category: Boulders - sarsen Site name: Six Corner Plantation Sarsen Stone Grid reference: TL 5078 3431 Brief description of site: A large sarsen stone 1.5 x 0.9 x 0.45 metres in size sits in a small wood known as Six Corner Plantation, just west of the M11 motorway. Adjacent is another small sarsen stone and a small boulder of Hertfordshire puddingstone. All these boulders have clearly been recovered from nearby farmland. The site is on private land and permission from the landowner is required before visiting. ---------------------------------------- Details Sarsens are extremely hard boulders of sandstone formed around 55 million years ago when the climate of Britain was hot and a layer of sand beneath the surface of the ground became cemented with quartz. They are thus very resistant to erosion and have survived the rigours of the Ice Age. They originated on the chalk downland north and west of Essex and were carried here by rivers and glaciers. After retreat of the ice they became concentrated in river valleys. The formation of silcretes (which includes sarsens and puddingstones) has been the subject of recent scientific debate. Research has compared the conditions under which sarsens and puddingstones may have been formed with the present day climate in the Kalahari Desert and parts of Australia.
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