The Takeley Heathen Stone
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(not chosen)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
#### PLEASE NOTE THE AREA AROUND THIS EARTHCACHE IS NOT FOR PARKING - YOU WILL HAVE TO PARK ELSEWHERE AND WALK IN - PLEASE NOTE TRAFFIC WARDENS ARE IN OPERATION - PLEASE DO NOT PARK NEAR TO THE CACHE SITE. ####
Uncommion to Essex, this is an ancient 'Sarsen stone' discovered nearby and displayed at the Four Ashes crossroads in Takeley, but what is it exactly and where did it come from ?
Sarsen stones although quite common to Counties such Wilts and Kent are not as common in Essex, this one is easy to find and provides an accessible way of seeing an unusual piece of our geological history.
These stones can also be found less frequently in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Dorset and Hampshire, Sarnsen stones are a feature of Southern England as they are the remains of a cap of tertiary sandstone which once covered much of the South, Many have the characteristic angularity of stone that has been ground smooth, though some surprising shapes are possible, they are classed as 'erratics'which are usually found in Northern England and Scotland, the make up of these rocks is different however with stone native to the Southern area.
Sarsens are isolated blocks of extremely tough sandstone which originated as a layer of sand on the surface of the Chalk. This layer was probably cemented about 20 million years ago forming an impersistent crust on the chalk surface which resisted erosion. Much later, probably during the Ice Age, the crust was broken up and when the Anglian ice sheet spread over the chalklands into Essex it carried with it many of the remaining blocks. When the ice melted it left behind a residue known as till which contained the sarsens and subsequent erosion of this till sheet has left these boulders isolated on the land surface.
Sarsens are more common in north Essex and have been employed by man as way markers for centuries; they also had religious significance (more below). Up to now the earliest evidence in Essex that man was aware of these boulders and made use of them was in the construction of a Roman villa at Gestingthorpe. Where this one was found is therefore of great interest as it is the first evidence that they were used during the Bronze Age, some 3,500 years ago, although for what purpose has yet to be established.
This Sarsen is very typical of sarsens found in Essex. It is roughly square in plan, and has very smooth and weathered upper and lower surfaces but the four edges are fracture surfaces, no doubt broken at the time of its transport during the Ice Age. In fact its shape clearly indicates that it was once part of a layer of silcrete of the same thickness.
A curious feature is a hole in one of the fracture surfaces approximately 2 centimetres in diameter and at least 10 centimetres deep. Sarsens often have holes which have been interpreted as originally containing roots of plants growing on the land surface at the time of its formation but these are not normally seen on the fracture surfaces. There was therefore speculation that it may be man-made. Further investigation has revealed that the hole is not straight but slightly curved. This, together with the fact that it is densely packed with clay, indicates that it is natural.
The name Sarsen comes from the early Christian Saxons, they used the word Saresyn as a synonym of pagan or heathen, and as these stones were popularly associated with Druid worship, they were called Saresyn or heathen stones.
Geology:
Sandstones are formed by the cementing together of grains. they can vary enormously in colour, texture and composition depending on the nature of the original source material and the environment of deposition, they may contain up to 75% quartz grains.
Sarsen stones are created by glacial and periglacial effects, formed during the Ice age, they can often appear to have been scattered across areas seemingly at random, this is due to them having been moved by 'solifluction' (or soil fluction), this is a type of mass wasting where waterlogged sediment moves slowly down sloping ground, over impermeable material. It occurs in periglacial environments where melting during the warm season leads to water saturation in the thawed surface material, causing a form of downslope flow to occur. This flow is due to frost heave that occurs normal to the slope, as well as to small-scale slippage. Where the underlying ground is permanently frozen the process is often called gelifluction.
Periglacial refers to an area that during the time of the Ice age, the area in question was not buried by flowing ice like many places, but instead was subject to severe freezing.
The stones in Olden times were very much in demand for building as well as worship, many ended up in churches, and in house foundations, this may explain why this stone is here, its geographic origins before being discovered nearby are uncertain apart from the above glacial explanation.
interestingly some Religious zealots used to actively hunt these stones out and destroy them as they were seen as being closely linked with the church !
To claim this Earthcache please fulfill the following requirements:
1. Take a photo with yourself or your GPS with the stone in the background.
Please EMAIL me (not in your logs)the following answers:
1. where was the Stone discovered and in what age ?
(there is a plaque to help you with this)
2. Estimate the height and width of the stone
3. Name one of the 2 common minerals that make up sandstone
It is not advisable to park nearby due to restrictions, the cache is wheelchair accessible too.
PLEASE NOTE: I receive a very high number of Earthcache emails, I can’t reply to them all otherwise I’d be doing nothing else all day, as has always been the case there is no need to await a reply from me regarding your answers…. However due to numerous people thinking they can just log these caches without emailing any answers, and/or completing the required tasks these will be picked up, and the logs will be deleted without further communication. To facilitate this Please email your information either before, or AT THE SAME TIME OF LOGGING THE CACHE, Thanks.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx sbe gur gnyy ivyyntr anzr fvta, vg'f evtug ol vg ba gur terra.