The Marble City:
The streets of Kilkenny are not, alas paved with gold but are paved with Kilkenny Marble. If you take a stroll along High St or John St in the ‘Marble City’ you will see the distinctive paving stones making up the footpaths and kerbing. They become more distinctive and attractive in the wet as the water makes them shine and they reflect the lights of the shops and pubs for which the city is well known for.
The Marble City
So exactly what type of stone is Kilkenny Marble and where does it come from? A good place to start is defining what exactly is Marble? The very strict and geological correct description of marble - is limestone which has been recrystalised by elevated temperature and/or pressure, the result is a changed or metamorphosed rock that is very shiny and pretty when polished. The temperatures and pressures necessary to form marble usually destroy any fossils and sedimentary textures present in the original rock. The resulting colour and characteristic swirls of the many colored marble varieties are due to various mineral impurities such as clay, silt, sand, iron oxides, or chert which were originally present as grains or layers in the limestone. Green colouration is often due to serpentine resulting from originally high magnesium limestone or dolostone with silica impurities. These various impurities have been mobilized and recrystallized by the intense pressure and heat of the metamorphism.
In more broader terms and in the stone industry Marble has a wider definition and includes any limestone which is capable of taking a good decorative polish.
The Streets of Kilkenny
To log your visit please e-mail me through my profile the following information:
(a) At the above co-ordinates identify the object you find - please let me know what the object is and the year that is carved on its side.
(b) Examine the shiny surfaces, concentrating on the patterns in the stone – decide if these patterns are fossils or otherwise.
(c) Based on your observations from (b) and the information I have provoided above - decide if the object in question is carved from true marble or Kilkenny Limestone.
It would also be great to have a photograph of yourself with your GPS in front of (or on top of) the tall nearby stone structure - although this is not a logging requirement.
Once you have done this and if you have the time and inclination you may turn your attention to the building that is very nearby. No further investigations are required for the logging of the cache but the building holds great curiosity for those interested in geology both inside and outside. Unfortunatly there is a €4 charge to enter but you will not be dissappointed. Inside you will see many creations carved from Kilkenny Marble. You will also see at least four other types of marble tiled together with contrasting colours, these are identified as Cork Red Marble, Green Connemara Marble, Kilkenny Black Marble and White Carrara Marble. (Again, some of these are true marbles and some are not).
Who Lies Within?