SEPTARIA (cut and polished) - Isle of Skye, Scotland
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SEPTARIA
Cut and polished
Bearreraig Bay,
Isle of Skye, Scotland
A beautiful polished section through a septarian nodule from the Isle of Skye showing two generations of calcite crystals in the fissures, one a fibrous, banded variety, and finally a greenish sparry calcite filling the remaining cavities.
Septarian nodules, or 'septaria', are remarkable natural objects. They are round concretions containing a network of internal cracks that have been filled with minerals, particularly brown and yellow calcite.
The cracks are called ‘septa’ from the Latin word septum or ‘partition’, which gives the nodules their name. Exactly how these nodules were formed is still not fully understood.
This is a gorgeous piece. Polished on one side. The calcite is fluorescent under UV light.
Click on a picture for a larger image
Size: approx. 13 x 10.5 x 3 centimetres
Weight: 934 grams