The Use of Museum Collection for Studying the Origin of “Rose-Like” Calcite in the Holy Cross Mountains (South–Central Poland)

Abstract

The "rose-like" calcite belongs to the most beautiful decorative carbonate rocks in the Holy Cross Mountains region in south-central Poland. This mineral occurs in the form of veins cutting Devonian limestones. The origin of the rose-like calcite was initially linked to the Variscan orogeny, but more recent studies, conducted in the 1990s of the twentieth century, documented quite a few generations of rose-like calcite mineralization and its Late Permian/Early Triassic age. It is interesting to note that the best example for studying the rose-like calcite provenance in the paleoenvironmental context is polished slabs facing six pillars in the Geological Museum of the Polish National Geological Institute-National Research Institute, Świętokrzyski Branch in Kielce. These calcite slabs come from the abandoned Mt. Zelejowa quarry located near Chęciny. Based on the calcite textural relationships and the results of stable C and O isotope determinations (changes in δ 13 C PDB and δ 18 O PDB values), the rose-like calcite from Mt. Zelejowa was postulated to be linked to the older and the younger post-Variscan (Permian/Triassic) phases. The δ 18 O PDB values indicated crystallization temperatures of hydrothermal fluids in the range of 21-59°C whereas the index Z, based on clumped δ 13 C PDB and δ 18 O PDB values (≥ 120), pointed to their marine provenance. No calcite sample showed a significant influence of meteoric waters. The hydrothermal activity took place in a terrestrial environment with developed karstification (hydrothermal paleokarst), which is evidenced by the presence of red-brown internal Fe-and Mn-rich precipitates and single dripstones (stalactites). The polished rose-like calcite slabs are a unique educational example of using stable C and O isotopes for discriminating hydrothermal from meteoric karst features. It should be emphasized that these specimens are the only complete collection retained from the current Mt. Zelejowa nature reserve. Both their scientific and educational values raise visitors' awareness of geoheritage and geodiversity protection.

Petrographic and petrophysical characterisation and structural function of the heritage stones in Fuwairit Archaeological Site (NE Qatar): implications for heritage conservation

“…Geology, specifically the study of heritage stones, provides archaeologists with information about the types of stones used, historical quarries, degree of decay and solutions for conservation (Přikryl and Török, 2010;Zoghlami et al, 2017a;. Knowledge, conservation and protection of heritage stones makes it possible to develop programs contributing to the diversification of tourism and economy (Belhaj et al, 2016;Ehling, 2018;Migaszewski and Mader, 2019). Furthermore, historic quarries can in some cases guarantee the supply of stones for restorations (Grissom et al, 2018;Torabi-Kaveh et al, 2019;Garg et al, 2019;Pereira and Cárdenes, 2019).…”