Our rock collection
The petrological collection contains a large variety of over 15,000 samples and is sub-divided into a petrographic collection with thin sections, a meteorite collection, an economic geology collection, a UK regional geology collection and an ornamental building stone collection.
The petrological collection goes back to the early foundation years of the University of Bristol when Geology was first taught. Many of the samples were originally gathered to build up a comprehensive teaching and exam collection, which was an integral part of the geology course. In more recent decades, research material from field based projects in the UK and around the world entered the collection and built up a vast reserve collection.
