Lynn, UK: Stone of the dinosaurs found in hall grounds

From Lynn News: Stone of the dinosaurs found in hall grounds
IF you go to Oxburgh Hall this weekend, the oldest object on display will not be the 15th century manor house.

For academics have discovered that an unusual stone found in its grounds dates back to the age of the dinosaurs.

And geologists believe the rock, which has been known locally as the Roman oyster stone, may have ended up in the shadow of the house near Swaffham because of ice movements almost half a million years ago.

The findings have emerged from research by scientists from the University of East Anglia for the National Trust, who own the property.

Property manager Teresa Squires said the revelations made “fascinating reading”.

She said: “Not only does it dispel the myth that the stone is of Roman origin from the local river. It opens up a whole new geographical and geological story which we never suspected.

“It is now officially the oldest artefact at Oxburgh and we hope it will be of great interest to our visitors.”

They believe the stone, which has been dated through studies of the oyster fossil species found within it, is actually around 165 million years old and far older than the local bedrock.

Professor Julian Andrews, of the UEA’s school of environmental studies, said the boulder could be more accurately described as a “roamin” stone, as the nearest similar stones were found more than 60 miles away in southern Lincolnshire.

There are known oyster-bearing beds in the Grantham and Sleaford areas, which lie on a line of rocks between Northampton and Lincoln.

And Mr Andrews said: “It is highly likely the boulder originated from here and this tells geologists it was moved by ice flowing broadly south-east, crossing modern day Fenland in the Spalding-Wisbech area.”

He said the stone was most likely to have been moved during a period known as the Anglian Glaciation around 450,000 years ago, when an ice sheet spread across East Anglia and occupied the whole of Norfolk.

He added that glaciers often picked up pieces of the bedrock as they moved across land, which could include large boulders.

However, debates have continued for decades over the exact nature of ice movements in the Wash and Fenland areas.