Why Did Red Ereño Limestone Go Red? Linking Scientific Knowledge and Geoheritage Story-Telling (Basque Country, Spain)

Abstract

Red Ereño is a red-stained ornamental and construction limestone with characteristic white fossil shells. Although exploited since Roman times, marketed worldwide and that the rock itself and its outcrop areas have been included in geological heritage inventories, the origin of its characteristic reddish colour remained unresolved. The aim of this work is to deepen the scientific knowledge of Red Ereño as a basis for understanding the characteristics of this stone and to make this information available for geoconservation actions. The mineralogical and petrological study, mainly based on optical and electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and rock magnetism and paleomagnetic techniques, concluded that the red-staining mineral is pigmentary hematite. Moreover, the analysis stated that hematite precipitated after sedimentation but prior to burial diagenesis and before alpine inversion. Based on palaeomagnetic studies, it can be stated that mineralisation occurred during the Late Cretaceous. This work illustrates how scientific research on this potential heritage stone provides key information for geoconservation.