HERITAGE STONE TASK GROUP
A Task Group
of the
International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)
&
Commission (C-10) - Building Stones and Ornamental Rocks of the
International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG C-10)
PRESIDENT
Dr Björn Schouenborg (Sweden)
SECRETARY GENERAL
Associate Professor Barry J. Cooper (Australia)
VICE PRESIDENTS & BOARD MEMBERS
Prof. Lola Pereira (Spain)
Dr Sabina Kramar (Slovenia)
Prof. Jan Elsen (Belgium)
Dr Joseph T. Hannibal (USA)
Prof. Brian R. Pratt (Canada)
Dr Nelson R. Shaffer (USA)
Prof Fabiano Cabañas Navarro (Brazil)
Prof M.Jayananda (India)
Dr Hirokazu Kato (Japan)
Dr Phil Paige-Greene (South Africa)
Dr Brian R. Marker (UK)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To:
From:
Date:
Subject:
IUGS Secretariat
Associate Professor Barry J. Cooper
HSTG Secretary General
30 November 2015
2015 REPORT AND 2016 GRANT REQUEST
(Transmitted from HSTG to IUGS)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PREAMBLE
HSTG is a Task Group, formally established by the International Union of Geological
Sciences (IUGS) in 2011, with an initial administrative Board of Management being
appointed at the 34th International Geological Congress in Brisbane for the period
2012-2016.
HSTG had earlier origins in 2008 as a project within Commission (C-10) - Building
Stones and Ornamental Rocks of the International Association for Engineering
Geology and the Environment (IAEG C-10) that was recognised at its meeting held
during the 33rd International Geological Congress in Oslo, Norway. HSTG retains its
association with IAEG C-10 with the HSTG President also being IAEG C-10 Chair.
The following Report and IUGS Grant request responds to an email received from
the IUGS Secretariat on 1 October 2015.
1|Page
VISION
An important international, national and community need is to increase awareness
and knowledge of natural stone, and its value in terms of sustainability and economic
development.
The specific objectives of HSTG are:
to facilitate formal designation of dimension stone that has achieved
widespread recognition in human culture.

to create the “Global Heritage Stone Resource” (GHSR) and Global Heritage
Stone Province (GHSP) as internationally recognised geological standards.

to promote the adoption and use of this heritage stone designation by
international and national authorities.
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS AND HSTG MANAGEMENT
As of 30 November 2015, there were 237 HSTG Correspondents from 53 countries.
New HSTG Correspondents are requested to complete an information form.
Much administration of the Task Group is carried out via email by the Secretary
General in co-ordination with the President and other Board members.
Small subgroups from the HSTG Board have also undertaken editing and peer
reviewing of special heritage stone publications, have acted as conference session
convenors or have been key note speakers at conferences.
2015 CONFERENCES
Vienna, Austria, April 2015
A session entitled “Natural stone research and Heritage stone designation” was
again held at the General Assembly of European Geoscience Union (EGU)
Congress, 12-17 April 2015 in Vienna, Austria. This annual conference has been our
most important communication meeting since 2013.
The Convener was Lola Pereira with Co-Conveners: Björn Schouenborg, Barry
Cooper and Sabina Kramar. 27 presentations were offered.
2|Page
The HSTG Secretary General was interviewed by BBC Science Correspondent,
Jonathan Amos, with the interview becoming available at
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32665035 .
Madison, Wisconsin, USA, May 2015
The North Central Section meeting of the Geological Society of America held, in
Madison, Wisconsin, USA , 19-20 May 2015, featured heritage stone in a session
entitled “Cultural Geology and Geo-archaeology: Millstones, Dimension Stones,
Capitol Buildings, Heritage Stone, and More”
Seven presentations were offered.
Toulouse, France, September 2015
Lola Pereira gave an invited presentation on heritage stone to the International
Congress – Geoheritage Inventories: Challenges, Achievements and perspectives
held at the Muséum de Toulouse, 22-26 September 2015.
Baltimore, Maryland, USA, November 2015
The first major dimension stone / heritage stone conference in North America was
held as a session at the Annual Meeting of Geological Society of America in
Baltimore, Maryland, 1-4 November 2015 under the title “Dimension stone and
heritage stone: Quarries, building stones, monuments, sculpture, utilitarian stones
and more”.
There were 16 presentations with presenters from Italy, Switzerland, India, Australia,
Algeria and Malawi, in addition to the United States. One poster advocated the
inclusion of gemstones as a part of heritage stone research.
In addition there were three HSTG sponsored field trips including tours of Baltimore
City and Washington DC, as well as a visit to an active local stone quarry in
Cockeysville Marble.
The Field Guides to Baltimore City and Washington DC were prepared by local
authorities and published as peer-reviewed papers for the conference in the Field
Guide Series of the Geological Society of America.
This conference is the first to be supported by IGCP Project 637, which provided
assistance to participate from young researchers, women geologists and geologists
from developing countries. Two delegates from Australia also gained assistance
from the IGCP Australia Fund that supports Australian participation at international
IGCP events.
3|Page
This Conference session also attracted endorsement from both the “Environmental
and Engineering Geology” and the “Geology and Society” Divisions of the Geological
Society of America.
PUBLICATIONS
Special Publication of the Geological Society of London (SP 407) entitled “Global
Heritage Stone: Towards International Recognition of Building and Ornamental
Stones” has been published in May 2015. It was edited by Lola Pereira, Brian
Marker, Sabina Kramar, Barry Cooper & Bjӧrn Schouenborg and contains 22 papers
and 275 pages.
A special heritage stone issue of “Episodes” has also been reviewed, edited and
published in June 2015. The Guest Editors were Lola Pereira, Sabina Kramar and
Barry Cooper.
In addition, a stone heritage book on east and southeast Asia is also being compiled
and edited under the auspices of Coordinating Committee for Geoscience
Programmes in East and Southeast Asia (CCOP). It is now scheduled for publication
in March 2016. The Compiler/Editors are Hirokazu Kato, Yoshihiko Shimazaki and
Anthony Reedman.
A special heritage stone issue of “Geoscience Canada” is also being planned for
March 2016 with selected contributions from the EGU 2015 meeting in Vienna.
Publication will be co-ordinated by Brian Pratt and Lola Pereira (Guest Editors).
Lola Pereira has also been invited to present an article on heritage stones in a
special volume, “Geoscience of the Built Environment 2016 Edition”, to be published
by the journal “Geosciences”. This volume is scheduled for publication in early 2016.
Publication of the Building Stone Field Guides to Baltimore and Washington DC has
already been discussed under 2016 Meetings.
In the medium term, two additional Special Publications of the Geological Society of
London are being planned as have an “International Guide to Heritage Stone
Designation” and a popular book dealing with heritage stone.
FUTURE CONFERENCES AND PRESENTATIONS
Vienna, Austria, April 2016
Following its 2013-2015 success, the General Assembly of “European Geoscience
Union” (EGU) to be held in Vienna in 17-22 April 2016 will have a repeat session
entitled “Natural stone research and Heritage Stone designation.
The Convenors are Lola Pereira, Sabina Kramar and Bjӧrn Schouenborg.
4|Page
Adelaide, Australia – June 2016
Barry Cooper has been invited to be a keynote speaker on heritage stone at the
Australian Earth Sciences Convention, to be held in Adelaide, South Australia, 26-30
June 2016.
Cape Town, South Africa, August–September, 2016
A major meeting of HSTG for 2016 will be a session at the 35th International
Geological Congress held in Cape Town, South Africa, 27 August–4 September,
2016.
HSTG has a symposium proposal, under the “Engineering Geology and
Geomechanics” Theme entitled “Dimension stone and building materials”:
www.35igc.org/Themes/47/Engineering-Geology-and-Geomechanics. Björn
Schouenborg and Lola Pereira are champions of the Theme: Engineering Geology
and Geomechanics. Phil Paige-Greene is session Convenor.
A post congress field trip examining “black granite quarries” is being considered. In
addition a day field trip entitled “Building Stones of Cape Town” has been planned.
2017, 2018 conferences
It has been suggested that a 2017 Heritage stone conference could be held in India,
given its major role in stone utilisation. HSTG Correspondents from India have
suggested that this could be held in conjunction with 19th ICOMOS (International
Council on Monuments and Sites) General Assembly to be held in New Delhi, 19-25
November 2017.
The Global Stone Congress, linked to the international stone industry, is also likely to
be next scheduled for 2017.
Given proximity to the famous Indiana Limestone an international meeting in North
America in association with the Annual General Meeting of Geological Society of
America to be held in November 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana has been suggested.
In addition, a meeting could be held in conjunction with the 800th anniversary of
Salamanca, Spain during 2018.
Ongoing annual meetings in 2017 and 2018 could also be held in conjunction with
the annual EGU Congress in Vienna, Austria.
5|Page
COMMUNICATIONS
Websites
A modern, interactive website has been developed by President Bjӧrn Schouenborg
and Lola Pereira for both HSTG and IGCP Project 637 at
http://globalheritagestone.com/
The original Global Heritage Stone website at www.globalheritagestone.org will be
phased out.
Circulars
Routine communication between HSTG correspondents is provided by the “Global
Heritage Stone Circular” that is issued at irregular intervals. Since our last report,
Circulars 9 and 10 have been prepared, distributed and lodged at our website in
March and September 2015. It is hoped to produce Circulars on a quarterly basis in
2016.
Newsletter
In December 2014, Lola Pereira compiled and edited our first “Newsletter”. It aimed
to produce short reports on heritage stone activities worldwide, including the
individual activities of HSTG correspondents. Colourful images are also included. It
is hoped to produce this publication annually.
GHSR APPROVAL PROCESS
Over the past 12 months, the Task Group has revised the Checklist for describing a
“Global Heritage Stone Resource” (GHSR) and has maintained the Checklist for
proposing a “Global Heritage Stone Province” (GHSP).
These Checklists were also the subject of discussion during a scheduled “Splinter
Group Meeting” that was held in association with heritage stone session at the EGU
conference in Vienna in April 2015.
The GHSR nomination of Portland Stone (United Kingdom) was sent by the HSTG
Board for external review and gained unanimous approval. It also gained unanimous
approval at the Splinter Group Meeting held in Vienna and was subsequently
approved by the HSTG Board. Public announcement of the approval has been
made in the IUGS E-Bulletin 110 of International Union of Geological Sciences
(IUGS), issued in July 2015.
In recent months, the HSTG Board has commenced consideration of additional
GHSRs and GHSPs. A draft “Annual Procedural Guide” has been prepared and
6|Page
circulated for comment with the September Circular. This Guide aims to offer
guidance for future GHSR and GHSP approval and designation.
The “Annual Procedural Guide” suggests that an annual list of proposed GHSR
nominations be compiled during the September-December period each year that will
be finalised by the HSTG Board each January before undergoing rigorous
assessment later the same calendar year.
This annual GHSR nomination-approval process has been activated for the first time
with an announcement in the September 2015 HSTG Circular with the closing date
for GHSR nominations for consideration during 2016 being 31 December 2015.
The Secretary General also maintains an Interim List of potential nominations for the
Global Heritage Stone Resource (GHSR) designation.
IGCP PROJECT 637 - HERITAGE STONE DESIGNATION (2015-2019)
In late 2014 HSTG applied for additional funding under the International Geoscience
Programme (IGCP).
In March 2015, HSTG was advised that the application was successful with the
result that IGCP Project 637 – Heritage Stone Designation has been created and an
additional $US6000 has been received by HSTG for use during 2015. The HSTG
Secretary General is also Project Leader of IGCP 637.
IGCP funding for 2015 has been used to support attendance at the GSA Baltimore
conference. Strong preference was given to supporting scientists from developing
countries, young scientists and women scientists.
FUTURE OF HERITAGE STONE TASK GROUP
The Heritage Stone Task Group (HSTG) was formed to safeguard our natural stone
heritage by means of establishing, approving and maintaining a new international
geological designation, the “Global Heritage Stone Resource” (GHSR) and the
associated “Global Heritage Stone Province” (GHSP).
This research effort is highly diverse and ongoing which by itself presents a
compelling argument for IUGS to have an ongoing presence in the sphere of
heritage stone research.
There is also a broader role to stimulate interest and discussion on heritage stone
designation that will likely result, in the medium term, in the need for preparation of
an “International Guide to Heritage Stone Designation”. Such a document will require
a governing authority.
A program of future activities has already been planned for the period 2015-2019
that is projected as part of a dedicated IGCP project.
7|Page
There is also an ongoing role in stimulating and maintaining international liaison
between the associated dimension stone geologists which has been limited until
establishment of the Task Group.
For the reasons stated above, it is strongly suggested that IUGS formally
establishes an ongoing IUGS presence to accommodate the expanding role of
the current Heritage Stone Task Group (HSTG) into a new Subcommission
related to materials and heritage, together with the present Geoheritage Task
Group, commencing in 2016. During the Geoinventories conference that took
place in Toulouse in September 2015, it was made clear that the two Task
Groups have many common objectives and many advantages will come out
from having a unique commission dealing with Geoheritage /Dimension Stone
subjects.
IUGS GRANT REQUEST 2016
For 2015, IUGS provided funding of $US2000 to HSTG.
Our grant in 2015 has been used to provide support for attendance at the GSA
conference in Baltimore by HSTG members.
For 2016, HSTG applies to IUGS for $US4000 funding to further heritage stone
documentation and recognition. This will be primarily utilised to support
contributors to attend heritage stone conferences.
In addition, HSTG funding will seek to support other related activities including
for example, expansion of correspondents, liaison with national/ local natural
stone organisations, preparation of draft GHSR nominations, maintenance of a
GHSR register, GHSR promotion and further development of HSTG
communications including an international dimension stone Newsletter and
Heritage Stone Circulars.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are greatly indebted to members of the HSTG Board and the wider network of
HSTG correspondents that assist HSTG activities.
Sincerely Yours
Barry J. Cooper (Secretary-General)
Emails:
[email protected]
Phone:
+61 8 8302 5769 (office)
8|Page
9|Page