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I have kept this thing on a shelf for some 40+ years just because I found it intriguing, but now I'm (lately) getting curious to understand what it could possibly be. I know I have collected it, but I don't seem to remember where - the most likely possibility is the Liaoning region in China, with Pakistan's Baltoro Glacier as a second and rather remote option. I don't see how it could be a fossil, but than what? A concretion? I've seen (not collected, we followed very strict self-imposed rules) quite a few truly bizarre concretions in close to three decades of speleology, but nothing resembling this. Further, it does not feel like a typical concretion to the touch, and rather gives the feeling of pressed sand. Any idea?

I hope someone can help me Id this. I live in Southern Indiana in Spencer county and due to man made environmental issues my house has began to sink, as we are on an aquifer and when under the house trying to figure out if we could help stabilize the area we came across this turtle looking object. Before it dried it was connected from head to what looks to be a shell structure. I'm so lost to this as I haven't found anything similar yet. All help identifying appreciated.

Hi Everyone, Looking for some help with understanding what a basal lag layer is? I have come across this term a lot when trying to identify different formation layers I see while out on the hunt. While I know a layer exists because fossils I find come from it, I don’t believe I have ever actually seen this basal lag layer. Thanks, John

This Keichousaurus is interesting in that it got a lot of grainy deposits. Is it due to a decaying body of the Keichousaurus or they are fossilized deposits of organic matter over the body of the Keichousaurus?

Hi everyone, I enjoy finding agates and fossils along eroding sections of Crowley's Ridge, a ridge of glacial deposits that runs through eastern Arkansas into southeastern Missouri. I appreciate your help ID'ing this chunk of something. As I recall, it's around 15cm long, around 7cm wide. I'll measure it tonight. Most of the petrified wood I find along the ridge is very dark: predominant colors are blacks, browns, and dark reds. I'll include a couple of samples in a picture below Both of those specimens are 7-10cm across. Both look a shade darker in "person." This is light to medium grey (just a shade lighter than it appears in the pics). The growth/deposit rings look interesting. Any thoughts? I appreciate all information/opinions on the grey chunk or the two smaller pieces.

Hey everyone, so I'm not experienced in this field, but I found something interesting, and I don't know what it is. My backstory; I love in East TN and I work at a saw milk that takes in raw wood and processes it. It isn't unusual to find nails, bullets (when musketballs sometimes!) in the wood we cut up, but the other day I found a piece of wood that looked like it had some sort of rock or mineral in in, and I'm not sure what it is. My first guess was that it was the start of a piece of wood beginning to petrify, but I just don't know, I was holding you all may be able to help. If you look closley, you can see that the object has been in the wood for a while, as the grain has grown around it. Also, if you look below the "rock" you can see the grain sparkling, which leads me to believe that the tree was getting mineral rich water, and you can see where it had been sucked up through the grain. Lastly, it seems to have a crystaline struckturw, maybe quartz? This is no bummet, that's for sure. Sorry about the picture, i could only upload one! Thanks in advance, -Kenneth