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ThG15, Stanford Warren Sarsen Stone, MUCKING, Thurrock District, TQ68568117, Notified Local Geological Site
Site category: Boulders - sarsen Site name: Stanford Warren Sarsen Stone Grid reference: TQ 6856 8117 Brief description of site: To the east of the former church a very large sarsen stone at about 2.2 x 1.3 x 0.6 metres in size, with a mammilated surface, is sitting by the path at the entrance to Stanford Warren Nature Reserve (Essex Wildlife Trust). The boulder was rescued from the large Mucking Gravel Quarry nearby which was landfilled in 2007. ----------------------------------------------------------- Sarsen stones 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 on the surface of the Chalk became cemented with quartz. They are thus very resistant to erosion and have survived the rigours of the Ice Age. 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. The sarsen stones of Thurrock are some of the best-preserved examples in the UK and most have curious rounded protuberances on their surfaces (mammilated), which are growth structures formed as the quartz slowly crystallised between the sand grains.
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Notified: July 2024
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