Ashstone

Is Ashstone Igneous Or Sedimentary? Academics Come To Blows In Debate.

— Times New London headline

Ashstone, also commonly known as Tuff, Tuffstone, or Tephrock, is a soft rock comprised of compressed volcanic ash, or tephra. During The Breaking, the world's skies were choked with thick clouds of volcanic ash, which fell and blanketed the world like snow. Over time, compression and interaction with ground water have converted this loose ash into layers of soft stone, which now forms much of the world's surface level stratas.
Most ashstone is comprised primarily eitehr from tiny shards of volcanic glass, pulverized rock fragments, or irregular crystalline ash. Ashstone can be found in many colours dependent on the type and composition of the volcanic material the ash came from. Common colours include beige, grey, brown, black and white. Green and pink tinted ashstone can also be encountered, but is less common.
Ashstone is an important building material around the world. Its relative softness makes it easy to quarry and for masons to shape into blocks and bricks. It is also used as an additive to cement and mortar when finely ground, giving the mortar a huydraulic characteristic that allows it to set underwater or in otherwise damp conditions.
There is much debate in academic circles as to whether it should be classified as an igneous rock because of the volcanic origin of the ash, or as a sedimentary rock due to the way ashstone stratas form. These debates can become quite heated, and many feuds and fights have started between academics over the issue.

"I don't care if it's sedimentary or igneous or whatever those stuffy old eggheads say it is, but what I can tell you is that it's bloody heavy."

— David Wickes, quarryman

Type

Stone

Also Known As

Tuff
Tuffstone
Tephrock