View source for Glossary of terms relating to building stones of Edinburgh

'''From: Appendix 1 Glossary. McMillan, A.A., Gillanders, R.J. and Fairhurst, J.A. 1999 [[Building stones of Edinburgh. 2nd edition.]] Edinburgh: Edinburgh Geological Society.'''

'''Agglomerate: '''rock produced by explosive volcanic activity - coarse angular blocks in a fine-grained matrix.

'''Andesite: '''fine-grained, volcanic rock consisting of feldspar and iron-magnesian silicate minerals.

'''Anhydrite: '''mineral composed of calcium sulphate (see also gypsum).

'''Anticline: '''strata folded in the form of an arch.

'''Architrave: '''the lowest horizontal member lying above a column in a colonnaded building.

'''Ashlar: '''hewn blocks of masonry finely dressed to size and laid in courses.

'''Baillie: '''magistrate in Scottish local government

'''Barrack: '''accommodation for itinerant workers, sometimes temporary.

'''Basalt: '''black, fine-grained, basic igneous rock, commonly forming lava flows and consisting of iron oxide and silicate minerals including feldspar and pyroxene.

'''Bedding: '''natural layers formed during deposition of sediments.

'''Blaes: '''old mining term for mudstone or shale, not containing much bituminous material.

'''Boaster: '''broad-faced chisel used for dressing stones.

'''Braided: '''interwoven stream or river channels, constantly shifting through islands composed of sands, silts and clays.

'''Broached: '''Scottish term for work on stone face with pointed tool to produce vertical or horizontal furrows.

'''Calcite: '''calcium carbonate, a common constituent of limestone.

'''Camstone: '''fine-grained, calcareous stone used for whitening doorsteps.

'''Cementstone: '''fine-grained, muddy limestone.

'''Cladding: '''thin slabs of stone used as external, non-load-bearing covering to building structure.

'''Column: '''free-standing vertical member, normally circular in plan, often conforming to the classical orders.

'''Conglomerate: '''sedimentary rock consisting of water-worn pebbles bound together in a sandy matrix.

'''Corbel: '''stone or series of stones projecting from a wall used for support.

'''Cornstone: '''concretionary limestone formed under arid conditions.

'''Corinthian: '''the most ornate of the variations on post and lintel structure found in classical architecture.

'''Course: '''continuous layer of stones of uniform height.

'''Coursed rubble: '''roughly squared stones in courses to correspond with quoin and jamb stones.

'''Cross-bedding: '''in sands a series of inclined bedding planes having a relationship to the direction of current flow (also current-bedding).

'''Cyclothem: '''repeated unit in cyclic sedimentation.

'''Desiccation: '''the process of drying up.

'''Dimensioned stone: '''ashlar or stone prepared to specified dimensions.

'''Dip: '''inclination of strata to the horizontal.

'''Dolerite: '''black, medium-grained basic igneous rock consisting of iron oxide and silicate minerals including feldspar and pyroxene.

'''Draft: '''smooth strip worked on stone face to width of draft chisel.

'''Dressed: '''applied to stone with any kind of worked finish.

'''Droved: '''tooled with a broad chisel.

'''Dune-bedding: '''large-scale cross-bedding typical of sands deposited in desert and beach dunes.

'''Dyke: '''sheet-like body of igneous rock which cuts across the bedding of the sedimentary rocks (see also sill).

'''Efflorescence: '''development of crystallisation of salts on wall surfaces.

'''Evaporite: '''deposit of precipitated salt (e.g. anhydrite, gypsum), evaporation having caused the necessary concentration.

'''Fault: '''fracture in rock along which there has been an observable amount of displacement.

'''Feaks (Fakes): '''old mining term for thinly bedded shaly, micaceous sandstone or sandy shale (see also flagstone). Feldspar: important group of rock-forming silicate minerals including silicates of sodium,

potassium and calcium.

'''Felsite: '''fine-grained igneous rock consisting of feldspar and quartz.

'''Flagstone: '''fissile, micaceous laminated sandstone, suitable for roofs and pavements.

'''Freestone: '''see Liver Rock.

'''Gabbro: '''coarse-grained igneous rock consisting of feldspar and magnesium- and iron-rich silicate minerals including pyroxene and sometimes olivine.

'''Gin: '''machine used in hoisting often driven by horses.

'''Graben: '''block of the earth's crust down-thrown between two faults.

'''Granite: '''coarse-grained igneous rock consisting of quartz, feldspar and very commonly mica.

'''Greywacke: '''fine- to coarse-grained, hard sandstone consisting of mainly angular quartz and rock fragments (also known as wacke).

'''Gypsum: '''soft white mineral composed of hydrated calcium sulphate.

'''Indenting: '''Scottish term for cutting out worn or damaged stone and inserting new (indents).

'''Ionic: '''simpler variation of the post and lintel structure found in classical architecture (see also Corinthian).

'''Jamb: '''stones forming the vertical surfaces at the sides of doors or windows.

'''Joint: '''fracture in the rock with no displacement. Joints often occur in two sets, more or less vertical and at right angles to each other.

'''Jumper: '''hand tool for sinking holes in stone.

'''Limonite: '''hydrated iron oxide and hydroxide.

'''Lithology: '''character of rock in terms of composition, structure and grain size.

'''Liver rock: '''massive sandstone without discernible bedding which can be worked in all directions (also freestone).

'''Mash: '''Scottish term for Mason's steel hammer weighing 1-2kg.

'''Metamorphic rock: '''recrystallized rock derived from pre-existing rocks by action of high temperature and/or pressure in the earth's crust.

'''Mica: '''flaky complex hydrated silicate mineral.

'''Newel: '''upright column around which the steps of a spiral staircase wind.

'''Ostracod: '''minute creature which has jointed limbs and lives inside a bivalve shell.

'''Pilaster: '''shallow pier or part column projecting from a wall.

'''Pillar: '''free-standing vertical block of stone: circular or polygonal in plan.

'''Pillar and Stall: '''method of mining which involved leaving pillars of the material being mined to support the roof (also known as stoop and room).

'''Pitched: '''surfaces resembling natural rock produced by pitching tool.

'''Plat: '''platform, doorstep or landing.

'''Plug and Feathers: '''steel wedge (plug) with half-round steel strip (feathers) on either side, used for splitting stone.

'''Polished: '''stone surface worked to a very smooth finish by rubbing.

'''Pyroxene: '''group of iron and magnesium (ferro-magnesian) silicate minerals.

'''Quartz: '''common rock-forming, hard glassy mineral, silica.

'''Quoin: '''stone at external angle of wall.

'''Random rubble: '''walling of irregular unsquared stones.

'''Redd: '''quarry rubbish.

'''Rubble (ruble): '''rough uncut stones of irregular shape and size.

'''Rusticated joints: '''where margins of stones are sunk below the general face.

'''Sandstone: '''sedimentary rock composed of sand grains naturally cemented.

'''Scaling: '''stone flaking-off in thin layers.

'''Scleroscope: '''small diamond-tipped rebound hammer used for measuring hardness of a material.

'''Seatearth: '''rock composed of clay-, silt- or sand-grade material full of fossilised plant roots, representing a former soil.

'''Sett: '''stone roughly squared for paving (also calsay stones).

'''Sill: '''sheet of igneous rock intruded along the bedding planes of earlier rocks.

'''Sneck: '''small stone in squared rubble work to make up bed bonding.

'''Squared rubble: '''walling of irregular squared stones laid in courses.

'''Stratigraphy: '''study of stratified rocks including their sequence in time and the correlation of sedimentary sequences in different localities.

'''Stugged: '''pecked stone faced with a pick or pointed tool.

'''Syenite: '''coarse-grained igneous rock consisting mainly of potassium-rich feldspar and hornblende.

'''Till: '''stiff to hard clay with stones, deposited by ice (also boulder clay).

'''Tirr: '''material removed as overburden.

'''Tooled: '''dressed.

'''Tuff: '''consolidated volcanic ash.

[[Category:Mineral resources]]