An iconic site in the Wye Valley has been recognised on the international stage for its geological heritage.
On September 1, Cavansham Ferry and Llanstephan Quarries, located between Boughrood and Erwood, was officially named a globally important Geological Heritage Site by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS).
The location is one of 200 sites carefully selected by panels of experts from more than 40 countries, as being the most iconic geological sites in the world.
Cavansham Ferry and Llanstephan Quarries is the location where, in 1831, Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, a giant of 19th century geology, first met rocks which led him to believe he could untangle the order and age of the rocks in Wales and the Borders. Murchison went on to devise ‘The Silurian System’ as a major division of geological time that is known and used internationally to describe rocks formed between 444 to 419 million years old. The site was significant for Murchison as the place he ‘discovered’ his great period of Earth’s history, writing in his notebook “N.B. This was the first true Silurian.” He named his period after the ancient Welsh tribe of the region the Silures.
The precise location of the site was uncertain until 1997 when a local geologist, Duncan Hawley, used Murchison’s original field notes and systematic inspection of the ground to rediscover the site.
Since then, the location has been visited by geologists, from the UL and overseas, and features in a popular book ‘The Greywacke’ by Nick Davidson (Profile Books, 2021) that tells the dramatic story of the 19th century scientific rivalry in the discovery of the Silurian and its geological ‘neighbours’ of Cambrian and Ordovician rocks.
The defining of the Silurian Period holds great significance in geology, so this site is particularly important to the history of the development of geosciences. Mid Wales and the Wye valley region can be proud of the recognition of Cavansham Ferry and Llanstephan Quarries as an IUGS Geological Heritage site.
A description of the site can be found at: https://iugs-geoheritage.org/geoheritage_sites/cavansham-ferry-and-llanstephan-quarries/
The full list of sites can be found at: https://iugs-geoheritage.org/designations/