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Welcome!
I work with the geoarchaeology of old stone: quarries, monuments, rock art. And I try to figure out about their weathering, and conservation using traditional crafts. I also burn lime the traditional way. Many of my domestic services are managed through FABRICA, a registered Norwegian company established with good partners. On this website I publish articles on geology and cultural heritage. For the joy of old stone! Per Storemyr
Visit FABRICA’s website!
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Recent posts
- Soapstone in the Far South of Norway (II): The Østre Vimme Multiperiod Quarry With Very Soft Soapstone
- Soapstone in the Far South of Norway (I): The Sparsås Iron Age Quarry
- Tafoni-forvitring i larvikitt på Rakke ved Stavern
- Bioerosion of shells on the beach – and in old Norwegian lime mortars
- Madam Jørgensens 230 år gamle feltspatgruve i Narestø
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SOAPSTONE! Book on its archaeology and history!
Book: The Stones of Nidaros Cathedral
Book: QuarryScapes
Author Archives: Per Storemyr
With pickaxe into modern times II: Quarrying of Marés at the Balearic Islands
As a follow-up of my two recent articles on traditional quarrying of sandstone and soapstone, here is an exciting film about manual extraction of Piedra de Marés at Menorca. Marés is a soft, yellowish biocalcarenite (calcareous sandstone), widely used since … Continue reading
With pickaxe into modern times: Quarrying of Bernese sandstone (CH)
Even until the 1950s the quarrymen in Berne extracted their sandstone using pickaxes. They carved out trenches around the blocks to be removed, not unlike the way their colleagues did 5.000 years ago in ancient Egypt. Why so? Join me … Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Old quarries, Switzerland
Tagged Bern, Berner Sandstein, Gurten, Krauchthal, Ostermundigen, quarry, sandstone, Switzerland
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thanks to colleagues and partners for 2012 – and, in particular, to the thousands of visitors to my website. Looking forward to 2012! Per Storemyr *
Posted in Other
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“Steinriket Bømlo”: Nettsted om steinbrytning i 10.000 år
Her forleden kom jeg over et særs interessant nettsted, nemlig “Steinriket Bømlo” som forteller historien om utnyttelsen av stein på denne ytterst steinrike øya – ytterst i havgapet på Vestlandet. Naturligvis står to av Norges flotteste steinalderlokaliteter i forgrunnen: Øksebruddet på Hespriholmen og pilespissbruddet på Siggjo. Continue reading
Classic Cars, Castro’s Cuba: Conservation in practice
Slightly off-topic, but how Cubans skilfully care for their classic Plymouths, mFords, Buicks and Pontiacs may be a reminder for anyone dealing with heritage conservation. However, it is not necessarily out of love that the Cubans care for their cars, … Continue reading
Standing at the edge of the abyss: The castle ruin at Cartatscha in Graubünden (Switzerland)
Working as a conservation scientist I care for cultural heritage. My “problem” is that I’m also interested in the history of decay, including catastrophic events; just these phenomena that turn old masonry to rubble. But I’ve never seen it “live” … Continue reading
Posted in Ruins, Switzerland, Weathering history
Tagged Cartatscha, Graubünden, historic photos, ruin, Surselva, Switzerland, weathering
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International conference on millstone in Bergen – and the Hyllestad quarry landscape
Last week the Norwegian “millstone community” invited to an international conference in Bergen – “Seen through a millstone: Geology and archaeology of quarries and mills”. It included an excursion to the Hyllestad quarries where the participants got to know a … Continue reading
Posted in Archaeology, Norway, Old quarries
Tagged conservation, Cultural heritage, grinding stone, Kvernsteinsparken, millstone, Norway, quarry
4 Comments
The Mauerzahn at Grünenfels castle ruin (CH) revisited after massive snowfall
Ten days ago winter arrived in the Swiss Alps with massive snowfall. Subsequent temperature increase and intensive rainfall led to major floods, avalanches and destruction of infrastructure such as villages and roads. Such events sometimes also affect old buildings and … Continue reading
Posted in Ruins, Switzerland, Weathering history
Tagged Graubünden, Grünenfels, ruin, Surselva, Switzerland, weathering
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De gamle jerngruvene i Neskilen ved Arendal
Neskilen var fra slutten av 1600-tallet et av de viktigste jerngruveområdene i Norge, stort i Norge og stort i “Arendalsfeltet”. Jerngruvedriften var svært viktig for Arendalsområdet og har vært med å prege den historiske utviklingen. Denne artikkelen gir en oversikt over et fortsatt velbevart gruvelandskap. Her var det drift i 200 år fra slutten av 1600-tallet – og her lekte vi som barn ved dype gruveåpninger… Continue reading
Posted in Archaeology, Norway, Old mines
Tagged Arendal, Cultural heritage, Neskilen, Norway, old mine
5 Comments
Experimental archaeology: The traditional way of quarrying soapstone
Experimental archaeology in old building stone quarries is a rare activity. But not so for Norwegian stone carver Eva Stavsøien. She asked herself how soapstone was extracted in the Middle Ages. Bringing handmade pickaxes, she went to an abandoned quarry … Continue reading
Posted in Archaeology, Norway, Old quarries
Tagged experimental archaeology, Nidaros Cathedral, Nidarosdomen, Norway, quarry, soapstone, Trondheim
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Per Storemyr Geoarchaeology & Conservation 