tech
January 22, 2026
Rock up to London: discovering stones and fossils from around the world on an urban geology tour
The city’s architecture travels through time and continents, incorporating everything from slabs of the Italian Alps to meteorites that hit southern Africa 2bn years ago
TL;DR
- London's architecture features fossils and rocks dating back millions and even billions of years, many imported from other countries.
- Dr. Ruth Siddall is a geologist specializing in urban geology, offering walking tours that reveal the geological history embedded in London's streets and buildings.
- Examples of geological features include a 150-million-year-old ammonite, York stone from a prehistoric riverbed, serpentinite from the Italian Alps, and gneiss from a meteorite impact crater in South Africa.
- The Great Fire of London accelerated the use of stone architecture, and the Romans were the first to import stone building blocks to the area.
- London Pavement Geology, a website and app co-established by Siddall and Dave Wallis, lists sites of geological interest in the UK.
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