Tumbled Stone - Stonehenge Preseli Spotted Dolerite (50 g)

What is popularly known as Stonehenge Preseli has come to represent the Stone Age. Our Neolithic ancestors held this stone in such high regard that they moved huge blocks of this material 250 miles in order to build one of the worldÕs most iconic ancient monuments. Stonehenge demonstrates the ceremonial and mortuary practices of the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Without the connection to this UNESCO World Heritage Site, the stone may otherwise only be appreciated by avid rockhounds.

While the large outer stones of Stonehenge, known as Sarsens, are made of sandstone, the smaller inner bluestones are the main fascination here. The spotted dolerite which makes up the bluestones at Stonehenge is believed to have been transported from hilltop outcrops in the High Preseli mountains in west Wales. These mountains likely formed roughly 390 - 490 million years ago during the Caledonian orogeny. It is important to note that while the stones on the market are of the same composition, they have been quarried from a piece of farmland roughly 500 m outside the boundary of the protected area.

This igneous dolerite rock forms in masses and contains large pyroxene (augite) as well as plagioclase grains which have mostly altered to chlorite and epidote. These stones sometimes also contain hornblende, feldspar and quartz. Dolerite is also known by other names including basalton, bizeul, diabase, ferrilite and mimose.

At the time of their use in Stonehenge, the stones were believed to have medicinal properties that could be accessed by pouring water over the sones into baths. Another interesting quality of these stones is that up to ten percent of them possess the rare property of being lithopones. This type of musical stone can ring like a bell or gong or resound like a drum when struck with a hammer stone, rather than a dull clunk. In current times, these stones are used to harness the old Earth energy. Because the stones were formed during times of massive change, the stones are used to push ones spirit and energy through current obstacles.