USE OF ROCKS IN MARITIME
The work is devoted to the geological characteristics of an ancient stone anchor found in the Volga delta in the Astrakhan region. This anchor was found by local residents in 2019. The anchor is made of sedimentary rock in appearance corresponding to fine - grained quartz sandstone. Microscopic examination of a petrographic thin section made from this rock showed that the sandstone is mainly composed of weakly rounded quartz grains, and also lesser extent chalcedony and fragments of quartz rocks. In addition, there are very rare microscopic rutile inclusions in quartz grains. The sandstone is rather loose and porous. Mineral grains are weakly interconnected by point clay - ferric oxide cement. Based on the fact that mineral grains have a weak degree of roundness, it can be assumed that the sandstone was formed from the products of destruction of quartzites in continental conditions. Perhaps these were deposits formed in river valleys or ancient rivers deltas.