Reading stone (geomorphology)

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Pile of reading stones in the nature reserve Sacrower See and Königswald (Potsdam)
Rain with reading stones in northeast Germany
Reading stones on the Verdier Petit dolmen

Reading stones are, in general language and in geomorphology , stones and blocks lying on meadows , pastures and fields that have no connection to the surrounding rock . They were loosened from the association through weathering and brought to the surface of the earth through erosion or through soil mechanical processes, but also through soil cultivation . Since they interfere with the cultivation of the soil and reduce the productivity of the worked area, they are removed by reading and collected at the edges of the field or driven away. In particularly rocky areas, they are piled up to form piles of stone , stone walls or dry stone walls . Since the progressive soil erosion and freezing (especially in the ice age unconsolidated rock) constantly bring new stones to the surface (colloquial: regrow ), the reading must be repeated.

In geology , the term is used with a modified meaning for rock debris that has detached itself from the rock due to weathering or that originate from loose rock formations in the depths. If the slope is sufficiently low (otherwise rubble heaps or the like will form) and if there is no other further transport, these remain close to their origin ( in situ ). They are used for geological mapping and, among other things through their statistical distribution, give indications of the rock below. This method is called reading stone mapping .

Conservation and biotopes

Piles and walls of reading stones are considered rare and valuable habitats and are therefore regionally protected under nature conservation law (e.g. Schleswig-Holstein and Brandenburg), as they are important habitats for reptiles , insects , small mammals and plants . Often, a pile of reading stones also develops into a small wood or bush .

Reading stone as a building block

Basalt reading stone walls surround olive trees. Hauran region in southern Syria

In many rural regions of the world (e.g. Ireland, Mediterranean regions), reading stones were used in addition to quarry stones for building houses (e.g. trulli ), storehouses and shelters when they were physically and technically suitable . The laying up of stone stones at the property and grazing area boundaries to form dry stone walls or the use in terrace walls on slopes is or was very common. Under certain circumstances, these can be regarded as cultural and historical landscape elements and are worth protecting.

In the regions of northeast Germany influenced by the Ice Age, in which there is no solid rock, but the reading stones come from the ice age loose rock, reading stones are usually (also colloquially) referred to as field stones . Since they are usually well rounded due to the glacial transport, they cannot be stratified, but are collected in piles of stones or rock walls or piles of field stones. From the Middle Ages to modern times, they were often used as building material for enclosing walls in these regions. They are usually too small for carving out stone blocks for churches and towers, while the boulders suitable for field stone blocks are too heavy to be “picked up”.

The term field stone is therefore used less in the sense of the geomorphological term reading stone, but is primarily used as a name for a natural stone in architecture ( field stone churches ) and in construction (field stone walls ).

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Reading stones. Lexicon Geography, Lexicon Geology, Lexicon Geodesy, Topology & Geosciences, accessed on April 7, 2017 .
  2. ^ Jürgen Peters, Burkhard Klinkhammer: Cultural and historical landscape elements. Systematize, map and plan - investigations in Brandenburg. In: Nature conservation and landscape planning. Vol. 32, No. 5. Stuttgart 2000, pp. 147-152.
  3. ^ Hillert Ibbeken: The medieval field and quarry stone churches in Fläming. Berlin Verlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-8305-0039-4 .

Web links

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