Podpeč Limestone

Podpeč Limestone
Stratigraphic range: Pliensbachian-Early Toarcian 192–182 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Podpeč area with the limestone in the background
Type	Geological formation
Underlies	Perbla Formation
Area	Ljubljana
Thickness	>75 m
Lithology
Primary	limestone
Location
Location	Central Slovenia
Coordinates	46°00′N 14°24′E / 46.0°N 14.4°E / 46.0; 14.4
Region	Dinaric Carbonate Platform
Country	Slovenia
Type section
Thickness at type section	~75 m (246 ft)
Podpeč Limestone (Slovenia)

The Podpeč Limestone (also known as Predole Beds) is a geological formation of Pliensbachian-Earliest Toarcian (Early Jurassic) age in southern and southwestern Slovenia, including South-West of Ljubljana or nearby Mount Krim, with other isolated locations such as in the Julian Alps.^[1][2] This unit represents the major depositional record of the Adriatic Carbonate platform (and more or less to the margin of Greater Adria), being known for its shallow marine-lagoon deposits and its bivalve biota, that are abundant enough to give the vulgar name to this unit sometimes in literature as the "Lithiotis Horizon".^[2][3] Is a regional ecological equivalent to the Veneto Rotzo Formation, the Montenegro Budoš Limestone or the Moroccan Aganane Formation.^[4] Its regional equivalents include the hemipelagic Krikov Formation at the Tolmin basin.^[5][6]

This limestone has been used since Roman times in Slovenia, with artefacts crafted from this stone including funerary markers, altars, and boundary stones. The limestone was transported along the Ljubljanica river to Emona (now Ljubljana), where it featured prominently in major Roman structures. When the Roman Empire fell in the 5th century AD, stone extraction at Podpeč ceased for centuries.^[2][7][8]

Archaeological findings in Emona showed this limestone was valued for its durability, in contrast to the less resilient sandstones, like the ones from Ljubljana Castle. It was also favored due to the accessibility of the quarries by redirecting the Ljubljanica River within a kilometer, facilitating transport.^[2][8]

Interest in Podpeč Limestone remained minimal until around 1850, aside from a few historical buildings, such as a church portal from the 15th century. However, the stone gained popularity by the late 19th and early 20th centuries, leading to its use in various architectural elements like sills, lintels, and door frames in Ljubljana. It also became popular for monuments, fountains, and religious artifacts. The quarry remained active until production ceased in 1967, with the limestone also crushed for roadwork and shipped as blocks for stonecutting workshops.^[2][8]

A notable user of this limestone was by the Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik, who applied them in the construction of several iconic structures in Ljubljana, including the Central Stadium, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, the National University Library, and various churches and altars. Other notable buildings featuring this stone include the Triglav Insurance Company Palace, sections of the Slovenian Parliament, and Ljubljana skyscraper.^[2][8]

In Slovenia, the northeastern margin of the Adriatic Platform displays a range of Lower Jurassic carbonate deposits, prominently seen from Tolmin through Vrhnika, Novo Mesto, Krško, and into the Gorjanci region. These deposits are characterized by well-layered, dark platform carbonates, including interbedded mudstones, fossiliferous wackestones, oolitic grainstones, and later-stage diagenetic dolomites.^[6] This Slovenian carbonate sequence is comparable to those observed in adjacent regions like Croatia and Bosnia.^[6] Hettangian-Sinemurian layers typically consist of white-grey, dense limestone, with some regions containing white carnous dolomite and in areas such as Hrušica and Notranjsko, dark grey, coarse-grained, bituminous dolomites are observed. The Pliensbachia facies are characterized by black, dense limestones that sometimes transition to black bituminous dolomite.^[9]

Throughout the wider Adriatic Carbonate Platform in Slovenia and beyond, the transition to Toarcian carbonates shows a reduction in significant fossils, a trend also noted in the Croatian and Bosnian sections.^[6]

The Podpeč type profile revelated a 75-meter-thick limestone sequence rich in diverse types, including micritic, bioclastic, and ooidal limestone, interspersed with marl, specially within the lower layers, while tectonic activity is evident in the upper sections.^[2] The distinctive dark grey to black limestone is highly valued for its aesthetic appeal, marked by white fossilized bivalves. This limestone, known as a "lumachella," formed under low-oxygen lagoonal conditions and contains abundant Lithiotis-type bivalves. Faces similar to those at Preserje near Borovnica indicate littoral zones with alternating subtidal and supratidal conditions, similar to the present-day Bahamas, with occasional high-energy oolitic limestone beds reflecting dynamic water flow.^[10]

During the Lower Jurassic, southern Slovenia was part of the Dinaric Carbonate Platform, a shallow marine environment adjacent to the deep-sea Slovenian Basin to the north and stretching into what is now Croatia. The Julian Carbonate Platform lay further north across the basin. Due to the depth of the basin, species exchange between the Dinaric and Julian platforms was unlikely. However, the narrowing of the Slovenian Basin near central Soča Valley may have allowed direct contact between these platforms.^[4][11]

Within the Dinaric Platform, shallow, turbulent waters shaped the limestone formations, forming breccias and oolitic sands that built up into beaches and dunes. Coral reefs served as barriers, protecting southern lagoonal areas rich in organic material, where limited oxygen levels facilitated the formation of bituminous rock layers. Salinity fluctuations, caused by alternating drought and rainfall periods, drove dolomitization, transforming the sediments. The presence of tropical fossils, including Mytilus-like bivalves and land plants, as well as rare coal beds, indicates intermittent swampy land islands.^[4][12][13]

The fossil record across these layers is diverse, preserving bivalves, gastropods, brachiopods, foraminifera, algae, and occasional coral. A rimmed carbonate platform model is proposed for the Podpeč region, positioning it near the oolitic platform margin with a sheltered lagoon landward characterized by low-energy, mud-rich limestone. Neighboring areas like Trnovski Gozd share these conditions, while sites like Kočevje and Suha krajina reveal lithiotid dolomite layers, breccias, and coal-bearing deposits from marshy environments. While some propose a ramp model, evidence such as cortoids and aggregate grains, as well as frequent emersion events, supports the rimmed platform model and a stable paleogeographic setting.^[13]

This area, part of the ancient Adriatic plate, once lay in a tropical belt at lower latitudes, later shifting northward to its present location.^[12]

Genus	Species	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Archaeosmiliopsis[18]	A. densus	Krim Mountain	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Zardinophyllidae.
Cladophyllia[19]	C. dresnayi	Gozd, Trnovski Gozd Plateau	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Cladophylliidae.
Cuifastraea[18]	C. lopatensis	Krim Mountain	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Cuifastraeidae.
Dichopsammia[19]	D. gozdensis	Gozd, Trnovski Gozd Plateau	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Dendrophylliidae.
Epismilia[18]	E. mauretaniensis	Krim Mountain	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Zardinophyllidae.
Heterastraea[19][18]	H. tomesi H. angelae H. eveshami H. stricklandi	Gozd, Trnovski Gozd Plateau Krim Mountain	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Oppelismiliidae.
Hispaniastraea[19]	H. ramosa	Gozd, Trnovski Gozd Plateau	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Hispaniastraeidae.
Intersmilia[19]	I. trnovensis	Gozd, Trnovski Gozd Plateau	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Intersmiliidae.
Phacelophyllia[19]	P. fasciata P. termieri P. bacari	Gozd, Trnovski Gozd Plateau	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Oppelismiliidae.
Rhabdophyllia[19]	R. phaceloida	Gozd, Trnovski Gozd Plateau	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Montlivaltiidae.
Siderosmilia[18]	S. perithecata	Krim Mountain	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Siderastreidae.
Stylophyllopsis[20]	S. veneta	Gorenja Brezovica reef	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Stylophyllidae
Thecactinastraea[19][18]	T. fasciculata T. krimensis	Gozd, Trnovski Gozd Plateau Krim Mountain	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Oppelismiliidae.
Thecosmilia[9]	T. veneta	Podpeč Zalopate section Grad section	Colonial Imprints	A Scleractinian Coral, member of Montlivaltiidae.

Unidentified members of Pectinidae, Megalodontidae or Nerineidae are known from several locations.^[10][15]

Genus	Species	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Astarte[21]	A. sp.	Podpeč	Isolated Shells	A clam, member of Astartidae inside Carditida.
Cochlearites[4][21][15]	C. loppianus C. ssp.	Grčarevec, Logatec Stražišče Hill, Klance Podpeč Radensko polje Globocec	Isolated Shells Mass Accumulations of specimen	An oyster, member of Plicatostylidae inside Ostreida. A large bivalve, with a subequivalved shell, up to 60–70 cm high. It is one of the Three main bivalves recovered on the Lithiotis Facies, with its accumulations generally overlying megalodontid coquinas.[23]
Durga[9]	D. trigonalis D. nikolisi	Podpeč Zalopate section Grad section	Isolated Shells	A clam, member of the family Pachyrismatidae
Gervillia[9]	G. (Gervilleia) buchi	Podpeč Zalopate section Grad section	Isolated Shells	An Ostreidan, member of the family Bakevelliidae
Gervilleioperna[4][21][15]	G. taramellii G. buchi G. timorensis G. sp.	Špik Mountain Grčarevec, Logatec Podpeč Krim Mountain Radensko polje	Isolated Shells	An oyster, member of Plicatostylidae inside Ostreida.
Lithioperna[4][21][15]	L. (Lithiopedalion) kuehni L. scutata L. spp.	Špik Mountain Podpeč Krim Mountain Radensko polje	Isolated Shells Mass Accumulations of specimens	An oyster, member of Plicatostylidae inside Ostreida.
Lithiotis[4][21]	L. problematica L. spp.	Podpeč Krim Mountain Radensko polje	Isolated Shells Mass Accumulations of specimens	An oyster, member of Plicatostylidae inside Ostreida. Large, large and aberrant bivalves, it's accumulation have had different denominations on literature, such as banks, bioherms, biostromes, bivalve reefs or bivalve mounds.[23]
Manticula[4]	M. problematica	Špik Mountain	Isolated Shells	An oyster, member of the family Pergamidiidae inside Ostreida.
Mytiloperna[4]	M. lepsii	Špik Mountain Grčarevec, Logatec Podpeč Krim Mountain	Isolated Shells	An oyster, member of the family Malleidae inside Ostreida.
Opisoma[4][21]	O. excavatum O. menchikoffi O. spp.	Podpeč Krim Mountain	Isolated Shells	A clam, member of Astartidae inside Carditida. Is considered a genus that evolved from shallow burrowing ancestors, becoming a secondarily semi-infaunal edgewise recliner adapted to photosymbiosis.[24]
Pachyrisma[4][21]	P. (Pachymegalodon) chamaeformis	Podpeč	Isolated Shells	A clam, member of the family Pachyrismatidae
Pecten[21][15]	P. norigliensis P. ssp.	Radensko polje	Isolated Shells	A scallop, member of the family Pectinidae inside Pectinida
Perna[9]	P. taramellii	Podpeč Zalopate section Grad section	Isolated Shells	An Ostreidan, member of the family Pteriidae
Pholadomya[9]	P. norigliensis	Podpeč Zalopate section Grad section	Isolated Shells	A clam, member of the family Pholadomyidae
Protodiceras[9]	P. pumilum	Podpeč Zalopate section Grad section	Isolated Shells	A clam, member of the family Megalodontidae