CAMBRIDGESHIRE 'COPROLITE BED' - Lower Greensand, Upware, Cambridgeshire

A rare example of the Cambridgeshire 'coprolite bed', a deposit at the base of the Lower Greensand (Early Cretaceous period – Aptian stage).

This deposit, rarely more than 30 centimetres thick, was dug by hand in the 19th century and after processing supplied the Victorian agricultural industry with fertiliser.  This period is known as the 'coprolite mining rush' and led to land speculation across south Cambridgeshire on an unprecedented scale.

There are no current exposures of this bed; this example is from an old collection and was obtained when geologists dug a temporary excavation near the village of Upware.  It consists of pale 'coprolites' in an an iron-rich, sandy matrix. Despite their name, very few of the concretions  are true coprolites. 

Click on a picture for a larger image