CALCITE 'BEEF' - Northamptonshire

'Beef' is an old quarryman's term for veins of fibrous calcite that occur in several rocks, but most commonly in the Jurassic rocks of southern and Eastern England. The veins are parallel to the bedding planes with the calcite fibres perpendicular to the bedding. It is often mistaken for fossilised wood.

This is a good example. It was collected in 1983 from the boulder clay (till) near Corby and is from an old collection.