Hardgrounds in the Lower Leintwardine Beds (Silurian) of the Welsh Borderland

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Abstract
Summary: The base of the Lower Leintwardine Beds (Silurian-Ludlow Series) in the shelf sequences of the Welsh Borderland is marked by a widespread development of shelly conglomeratic limestone beds. Borings into some intraclasts indicate that they were hardgrounds. The early lithification, sometimes in situ, of both sand-grade and mud-grade carbonates is demonstrated by the conglomerates. Some compound intraclasts (‘hiatus concretions’) indicate a complex history of deposition, scouring and lithification. Boring of clasts which have not been further eroded is inferred to have taken place locally. The borings are of the narrow, single entrance form referable to Trypanites. The distribution of the conglomerates relates closely to Leintwardinian palaeogeography. Repeated hardground formation in sequences of inner shelf areas reflects episodic deposition alternating with periods of omission and erosion. There is evidence throughout the shelf of a break in sedimentation with hardground formation at the end of Bringewoodian times. The nature of the conglomerates suggests that they formed in shallow water conditions; there is no lithological indication of sub-aerial exposure. The absence of the Aymestry Limestone in the SE shelf is more probably due to its non-deposition or lateral lithological change to muddier beds with a different faunal assemblage than to its subsequent removal by erosion.