Beach stones with holes, tunnels, and burrows, made by marine invertebrates such as bivalve molluscs, worms, and sponges, are a common find on British beaches – and the seashores around the Isle of Portland are no exception.
As well as the small-scale evidence for damage to the Upper Jurassic Limestone rocks by various sea creatures, you can also see large scale evidence for the extensive quarrying of the stone on the seashore. At this particular spot, the vertical face of the cliff, and the flat rock platform at its base, show tool marks where the blocks of stone were removed and transferred to boats for transport around the country. Portland Stone is a famous building stone of great quality used in some of the finest architecture of Great Britain.
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