Sandstone (BE_FR.22.0001)
Hand specimen picture (macro & binocular)
Thin section picture
Find location
- Rock determination
- Sedimentary rock > Siliciclastic > Sandstone > Quartzarenite
- Chronostratigraphy
- Phanerozoic; Cenozoic; Paleogene; Paleocene; Thanetian
- Lithostratigraphy
- Hannut Formation / Tienen Formation; Dormaal Member / Erquelinnes Member / Grandglise Member
- Rock name
- Landen Group quartzarenite
- Rock synonyms
- hypersilicious rock (Veldeman et al. 2012); grès de Grandglise; grès de Blaton; grès de Bray; grès de Binche; Oosterbantzandsteen; grès de l'Ostrevent; grès d'Artois
- Additional information
- Age: Thanetian / Lower Ypresian; the presence of glauconite can be indicative for the Hannut Formation, the marine facies of the Landen Group
Find location
- Site type
- Consumption site
- Location
- Belgium; Oost-Vlaanderen; Berlare
- Site name
- Uitbergen-Wijmeers 1
- Excavation or Survey Team
- Liesbeth Messiaen, Joris Sergant, Sibrecht Reniere & Jasper Deconynck
- Additional contextual information
- Feature 10169
Provenance
- Location
- Belgium / France
- Supposed site(s) of provenance
- Additional information
- The Hannut Formation (Early and Middle Thanetian) is a marine unit with outcrops mainly situated in the Hesbaye area, in Hainaut and northern France (Laga et al., 2001, 139). The uppermost layers of the Hannut Formation consist of sands rich in glauconite. Some of these layers were silicified (until 5-6 m deep) resulting in quartzitic sandstones. The sandstones on the surface layers are broken into small flagstones whereas in the deeper parts larger stone blocks can be found. These sandstones are well known in the region of Blaton, Stambruges until the north of Valenciennes near Raismes. In the region of Blaton, the glauconite is merely not weathered and less abundant. Some sandstones are even almost white (Gulinck, 1949). The Tienen Formation is a continental unit mainly consisting of lignitic clay and lignite, white sand, pale marls and shell beds. Locally, silicified wood fragments, traces of roots and quartzites occur. Outcrops are known in the Hesbaye (Tienen-Landen area) and Hainaut areas. The Tienen Formation is from Late Thanetian and Early Ypresian age (Laga et al., 2001, 139). Quartzitic sandstones occur e.g. within the Dormaal Member for the Hesbaye region and the Erquelinnes Member for the Hainaut region (Dusar et al., 2009, 491-498; 449-454; Laga et al., 2001). In general, deposits of this type of rock are thus known in a wide region, extending from the Pays de Bray (north of the Paris Basin, France), through Landen (province of Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium) passing by Binche (province of Hainaut, Belgium). In hand-specimen it is very difficult to distinguish between the different facies of the “Landenian sandstones”.
- Natural color
- light grey
- Aged color
- Components
- quartz-rich; quartz grains are cemented by one or two generations of silica; some oval-shaped dark-green to black glauconite grains
- Texture
- fine- to medium-grained; saccharoid texture
- Structure
- Weathering
- Diagnostic features
- saccharoid texture, quartz-rich, some rare glauconite grains
- Additional information
- polished rock sample
- Sample type
- Tool
- Artefact information
- Catillus quern fragment. Late Iron Age- Early Roman period. It has been studied in the framework of a PhD research project (Reniere 2018; see object code 012-003, rock group: LG_SS)
- Inventory number
- BE_FR.22.0001
- Collection
- Archaeological Department, Ghent University
- Donating institute/person
- Gate Archaeology
- Host collection
- unknown (Gate ?)
- Other samples available
- No
- Sample collection method
- Archaeological Excavation
Dusar et al. 2009
- Full reference
-
Dusar M., Dreesen R. & De Naeyer A. 2009. Natuursteen in Vlaanderen, versteend verleden. Wolters Kluwer.
Gulinck 1949
- Full reference
-
Gulinck M. 1949. Oude natuurlijke bouwmaterialen in Laag- en Midden-België. Technisch Wetenschappelijk Tijdschrift Jaargang 18, 2: 25-31.
Laga et al. 2001
- Full reference
-
Laga P., Louwye S. & Geets S. 2001. Paleogene and Neogene lithostratigraphic units (Belgium). Geologica Belgica 4, 1-2: 135-152.
- Link
Messiaen et al. 2013
- Full reference
-
Messiaen L., Sergant J., Reniere S. & Deconynck J. 2013. Uitbergen-Wijmeers I. Rapportage archeologische opgraving Augustus-oktober 2012. Gate-rapport.
Reniere 2018
- Full reference
-
Reniere S. 2018. Sourcing the stone in Roman Northern Gaul : on the provenance, use, and socio-economics of stone tools in a stoneless landscape : the case of the northern civitas Menapiorum. Proefschrift voorgelegd tot het behalen van de graad van Doctor in de Archeologie, Ghent University. Ghent.
Veldeman et al. 2012
- Full reference
-
Veldeman I., Baele J.M., Goemaere E., Deceukelaire M., Dusar M. & Doncker H.W.J.A. 2012. Characterizing the hypersiliceous rocks of Belgium used in (pre-)history: a case study on sourcing sedimentary quartzites. Journal of Geophysics and Engineering 9: 118-128.
- Link