Talk:Elbe Sandstone

Ashlar
Is Ashlar a type of natural geological sandstone obtained from rock formations or, as Wikipedia suggests, is it a sandstone rock formed into a suitable shape for building purposes? This may seem be making a fine distinction but the word appears to be used in this article in a different sense to that in the Wikipedia Ashlar article.Stuffed cat (talk) 00:37, 16 January 2012 (UTC)


 * According to the Oxford Dictionary of Architecture an ashlar is a "class of masonry consisting of blocks of accurately dressed, cut squared and finished stone..." or "a large clay-based block larger than a brick". Ashlar in this sense is Quader in German. However, in the case of Elbe Sandstone the term Quader is also used to describe the different geological sandstone layers from which presumably ashlars were cut. So I would say it is a local usage of the term as a proper name for the Elbe Sandstone strata. I've amended the section title to reduce the risk of confusion, though. --Bermicourt (talk) 06:17, 16 January 2012 (UTC)