A question for the Archaeologists, -How would you provenance a slate item?

[Tengu]

My Google Sholar fu is not working.

I mean, find out where the slate came from.

My first instinct would be to ask a `good` stonemason, -but I fear my tutor requires something Geochemical...

Is X ray Flourescence geochem?

Any other suggestions?

And which labs do it?

 

[boatman]

Origin is not the same as provenance,that comes from the record of where it was found and what was associated with it. If it had, for example, part of what might be the word Arthur scratched into it and was found at Tintagel. The find is the important thing although how far Romans and post-Romans brought roof tiles from might be interesting and contribute to knowledge of past economies and industries.

Ask these people http://www.buildingconservation.com/directory/british-slate and these http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/csm/

 

[Robson Valley]

Your slate may contain useful microfossil populations of ostracods, conodont elements and other things. From the proportions and species, the deposit of origin might be sourced. However, the extraction process is a totally destructive one that required quite a bit (500g) of starting material. I did an upper level Micropaleontology course at Uni that turned out to be absolutely fascinating. Much of our laboratory musings used oil well drilling core samples.

 

[wicca]

" I mean, find out where the slate came from."

Easy, take it into a room where there's a piano, lay the slate on the piano and play a few notes..If it bursts into song chances are it's Welsh slate..


Sorry Tengu..couldn't resist it..

 

[Tengu]

Thanks, those are good suggestions, even wiccas.

My idea was to take it to a good stonemason but that isnt scientific.

 

[Chainsaw]

Slate has different properties, hardness, colour, composition, Ph etc. You could try and get slate with known provenance and compare/contrast. IIRC Scottish is harder and darker, welsh is a little softer and more 'purpley' and spanish is a little softer again.

Go to a stone mason and ask for some samples (and ask him what he thinks of the slate you have)

HTH

Alan

 

[Tengu]

That was my initial idea. A good stonemason would be able to identify it, or at least be able to supply known samples to compare.

But tutor wants LAB WORK

 

[John Fenna]

Slate has different properties, hardness, colour, composition, Ph etc. You could try and get slate with known provenance and compare/contrast. IIRC Scottish is harder and darker, welsh is a little softer and more 'purpley' and spanish is a little softer again.

Go to a stone mason and ask for some samples (and ask him what he thinks of the slate you have)

HTH

Alan

Welsh slate comes in a whole range of colours and hardnesses!
In my house - near the once famous Cilgerran Slate Quarries (dark, dense and used to be turned on a lathe) there is Llangolman (greenish - used on the Houses of Parliament) and a very soft blue slate ...
The Spanish Slate (used for a decorative trim on one roof) is very hard and black with lots of Fools Gold in it....

 

[Robson Valley]

To search for the possible microfossil assemblages, go to abeBooks.uk and enter the keyword micropaleontology
As I suspected, the reports are very regional. I didn't see a text with an overview of the subject but
I didn't look very hard, either.

Fool's Gold = iron pyrite. There are several slate outcroppings in my district with the ocassional 20mm or bigger cubes of pyrite crystal.
Dangerous prospecting with piano-sized slabs coming down unexpectedly.
It's the fine hidden bands of little pyrite crystals which have ruined a perfectly good saw blade in no time at all.

 

[Tengu]

Yes, I have seen those in the islands south of Oban...Oddly called the Slate isles.

Quarries all closed but interesting to visit for old quarrries and use of slate.