The Colossus of Ostermunzel is a

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...

stone found in a farmer's field east of Ostermunzel in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, in 2013.''Erfolgreiche Bergung des Findlings von Ostermunzel''
on hannover.de of 17 April 2015. It was excavated and moved to a new location about away.

Location, discovery and excavation

This glacial erratic, a piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests, was found by a farmer who was ploughing his land in 2013. The field in which it was discovered lies on a small hill near the district road K253 between Ostermunzel and Dedensen. Upon discovering it, the owner of the field informed local authorities in accordance with the Lower Saxon natural protection law that discoveries of rocks that are more than across must be reported. The

Hanover Region Hanover Region () is a districts of Germany, district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Heidekreis, Celle (district), Celle, Gifhorn (district), Gifhorn, Peine (district), Peine, Hildeshe ...

objected to its planned demolition. A preliminary investigation and assessment by Heinz-Gerd Röhling of the State Office of Mining, Energy and Geology () found that the stone qualified as a

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

.''Wie ein Milliarden Jahre alter Stein die Geheimnisse der Eiszeit lösen könnte''
in focus.de of 16 March 2015 Its large size is abnormal, particularly for northern Germany and especially for Lower Saxony.Klaus Abelmann
''Gehoben und verschoben: Der Findling von Ostermunzel''
in: Deisterjournal. Due to the estimated cost of its removal, the Hanover Region, which was in charge of what to do with the stone, initially decided to leave it where it was discovered. However, after reconsideration, the stone was removed intact in the spring of 2015 by a mobile crane and transported by a low loader to the hill about away for exhibition. Around 400 bystanders witnessed the excavation and transport. The removal costs totalled , with the expense borne by the Hanover Region.
in: Die Welt of 17 April 2015. The new site is at a picnic area close to a bicycle path.

Description

The glacial erratic stone's approximate measurements are high by wide, with a circumference of . Its weight was originally estimated to be ,LBEG Niedersachsen:

'' Press release of 13 January 2015. but was found to be when it was weighed at the time of its removal from the field where it was found and excavated. Geologists inspected the stone. It is probably composed of

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

, estimated to be 1.4 to 1.6 billion 1000 million <-->years old. The mineral composition was preliminarily observed to be

feldspar Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocl ...

and

biotite Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron- endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more al ...

. It was brought to the region by a glacier from

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

, probably from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

.''Region Hannover lässt Findling bergen''
on hannover.de of 24 February 2015.

References

External links

* Jörg Rocktäschel
''Findling auf Acker muss zertrümmert werden''.

Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung ''Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung'' (abbreviated HAZ) is a German newspaper with a circulation of 158,000 (as of 2009) and a widespread resonance all over Germany. It is distributed in Hanover and in all Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a St ...

, 14 August 2014 * Jörg Rocktäschel
''Findling wird nicht zertrümmert''.
Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, 14 August 2014 * Carsten Fricke
''Findling ist ein Naturdenkmal''.
Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, 2 September 2014

about the topic ''Gneis als Stein des Jahres 2015'', on www.NDR.de of 13 January 2015

on www.NDR.de of 17 April 2015
Video
of Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung

of Sat.1 Regional {{Coord, 52.37676, 9.50202, type:landmark_region:DE, display=title Glacial erratics of Germany Hanover Region Individual rocks

Location, discovery and excavation

Description

See also

References

External links