For the benefit of Congress delegates who are not attending symposium S113 on geological fieldwork, we have arranged a special lunchtime viewing of the two large geological sections, dating from the early nineteenth century, which will be presented during the symposium.

The first section was drawn and coloured by Thomas Sopwith in 1839, though it is unfinished. It shows the detail of the strata of a 45km (28 mile) stretch west-to-east across northern England, and is itself almost 13m (42 feet) long. Sopwith was a mining engineer, and his goal was to map the strata around the lead mines of the district. This object is the property of Graham Carlisle, and is thought not to have displayed since the nineteenth century, surviving in its canister in a remarkable state of preservation. S113-B will feature a paper by Susan Turner about this section.

The second section dates from 1815, and is an original manuscript version of a section by David Mushet. It shows a cross-section of the strata of part of the Forest of Dean, in south-west England and is 3½m (11 feet) long. Mushet was a metallurgist who worked mainly in the iron-smelting industry, and his main geological interest in the Forest of Dean was to map coal mines – one of the mines he invested in is featured on the section. In 1815 he presented a copy of the section to the Geological Society of London, and it seems his work also influenced Thomas Sopwith’s surveys of the Forest of Dean in the 1830s. This object is owned by Cherry Lewis, who will be attending S113.

Please note that, to protect the artefacts, no food or drink is permitted in the room.