Changes in collection sites and usage patterns of serpentinite used for the early and late modern stone works in the Sekinomiya and Oya towns, Yabu City, Hyogo Prefecture, Southwest Japan

Abstract

The authors conducted the petrologic descriptions and magnetic susceptibility assessments of the Sekinomiya peridotite body and the early and late modern stone works located in the northern Hyogo Prefecture, Southwest Japan. The stone works made of serpentinite, such as lanterns and guardian dogs, were produced between the late Edo and early Showa periods (the 1830s–1930s). Based on the magnetic susceptibility values, serpentinite exposures of the peridotite body were classified into three groups: H, M and L. The lanterns were carved from the serpentinite stone related to the M group. Distribution of the M group serpentinite exposures in the Sekinomiya peridotite body suggests that most of the stone materials have been collected at the sites along the Soji River in Sekinomiya, and the Kabosaka and Otani rivers in Oya, Yabu City.