OldMachineShop Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 I do not consider myself a rock or fossil enthusiast, but whenever I am out and about I will pick up interesting rocks I find. I also try and pick up a rock or stick from different places I visit. So, I was doing some landscaping a few years back, and went to the local rock yard to pick up some step stones and flowerbed rocks. I came across this interesting slab that had something embedded in it, so I took it home and made a natural bench out of it. Whenever friends come over, I joke that it's my Ancient Alien Artifact. I am just wondering if anyone can give me more information on it. Is it just a piece of petrified wood embedded in a rock? The lines are very straight and uniform, but I guess that could just be the grain of the wood. Is this something that is pretty common with petrified wood? Have just been curious about it for a few years, and just now getting around to asking a group who might know. Thanks in advance for any information. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 (edited) It is definitely an impression of wood or wood like plant. Cordaites is a possibility. Do you know the formation and age of the rocks where it may have been found? It looks Carboniferous to Permian. Edited March 31, 2022 by DPS Ammonite 1 2 My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMachineShop Posted March 31, 2022 Author Share Posted March 31, 2022 Unfortunately, no - I don't know the formation or age of the rock. That is a very cool sample you posted, and has many similarities to mine. Thanks for the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 (edited) I can live with DPS's assessment. Cordaites was a not uncommon plant in the Carboniferous,part of the Euramerican wetland biome("everglades"). All of which means that you might have something there that is a couple of hundred million years old.... edit: spelling Plus figure added Under a microscope,you might see structures like: Edited March 31, 2022 by doushantuo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoast Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 Have a look at images of Sigillaria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 Sorry to complicate things here. I don't agree with Sigillaria, but see Calamites as another possibility. 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 I don't agree with either one. Looks man-made to me. The striations are much too regular, precise in width, depth and spacing to be organic. I'm thinking that it is rusted iron embedded in concrete. 1 2 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 I’m in the calamite camp myself. In the picture with the ruler At the top of the stem at about the 1” mark I think I can see the pinched “joint”…… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 @OldMachineShop Try a magnet on it to see if it sticks. 1 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleorunner Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 I thought I saw a layer of old mortar, and moldy, with a piece of rusty metal, which was applied on rock that forms the table. It was my first impression when seeing the photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 20 hours ago, OldMachineShop said: Ancient Alien Old mason I think. Masons do tend to be sort of alien like though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 2 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said: rusted iron embedded in concrete. I think the iron is gone. A mold would be left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 2 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said: I don't agree with either one. Looks man-made to me. The striations are much too regular, precise in width, depth and spacing to be organic. I'm thinking that it is rusted iron embedded in concrete. Hmmmmm...Maybe a few photos of the bench slab from the side could help us come to a more definite conclusion. 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoast Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 5 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said: I don't agree with either one. Looks man-made to me. The striations are much too regular, precise in width, depth and spacing to be organic. I'm thinking that it is rusted iron embedded in concrete. Absolutely not man made. Woody material of some kind. Preservational differences meam various options available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMachineShop Posted April 1, 2022 Author Share Posted April 1, 2022 Hi All. Sorry for the slow response - late day at work. I have tried both a magnet and a metal detector, and get nothing from either. So, I don't think there is anything metallic in there. I'm quite sure it is all rock surrounding the item. I will take some more pictures from all angles tomorrow in the daylight and post them up. My kids also have one of those USB microscope things, so I will see if I can get that out there for some really close-up pictures. Thanks again for all the great information. I have lots of google-ing to do this weekend: Cordaites, Sigillaria, Calamites. ...all new to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleorunner Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 9 hours ago, Rockwood said: I think the iron is gone. A mold would be left. 3 hours ago, OldMachineShop said: Hi All. Sorry for the slow response - late day at work. I have tried both a magnet and a metal detector, and get nothing from either. So, I don't think there is anything metallic in there. Well that would also prove what he says @madera de roca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 7 hours ago, westcoast said: Absolutely not man made. Woody material of some kind. Preservational differences meam various options available. Quite certain about it. Why ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 I kept quite about this one, but @Mark Kmiecik has the most plausible hypothesis at the moment. My thoughts were as following: - Structures are veeery regular --> man-made - As a whole, the "thing" is not totally flat --> natural - Matrix is overlapping the thing --> natural Mark´s hypothesis fits all of the observations at the moment (a mold of a piece of perhaps iron in concrete). We still need to know it it is natural rock or concrete, though. Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 5 minutes ago, FranzBernhard said: Matrix is overlapping the thing --> natural Isn't a mold a mold no matter the object ? 7 minutes ago, FranzBernhard said: - As a whole, the "thing" is not totally flat --> natural Have you ever known a sober mason ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diginupbones Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 20 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said: I don't agree with either one. Looks man-made to me. The striations are much too regular, precise in width, depth and spacing to be organic. I'm thinking that it is rusted iron embedded in concrete. Agree with Mark. Man made concrete stone with a piece of wood lath that got stuck in the mold when they poured it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMachineShop Posted April 1, 2022 Author Share Posted April 1, 2022 I can say with 100% certainty that the stone is not poured concreate or some kind of pre-fabricated Home Depot rock. The stone yard I got this from has 100's of pallets of this stuff and they call it, "Moss Rock" which I'm sure is just the landscaping term. It's the most common type of landscaping rock/boulders in the Houston/Dallas/Austin area. When I got this I picked up a full truckload of it, and no 2 rocks are even close to being the same - as in molded or poured. I have literally tons of it around my yard that I have used as short walls, fish pond walls, walkways, Etc. Included below is a picture of one of my small walls I made out of the same type of rock that I got from from the stone yard that day. I have added some close-up pictures using my kids USB microscope. All of those close ups are of the item embedded in the rock, or of the transition from the embedded item to the surrounding rock. I am also uploading a few additional angles of the main rock and different closeups of the embedded thing. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 Thanks for the additional info! With that provenance, the rock type should be easily pinned down. From your pics, it looks like a sandstone. Concerning the "thing", is there a possibility that this was produced with some kind of milling machine? For anti-slipping purpose, perhaps? Probably just a test run of such a tool? Just for fun? Some iron may have been abraded from the tool, hence the rusty appearance. I have something similar in my own stairs, but flat, without grooves. Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 (edited) I’m still going with calamite…..partially due to this joint between segments… Edited April 1, 2022 by Randyw 3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldMachineShop Posted April 1, 2022 Author Share Posted April 1, 2022 I did some google image searching based on the terms referenced above, and have found a few samples that are very close to what I have. Pictures and source below. To my eye the Calamite looks nearly identical, with even the same rust coloring. Cordaites: Source - https://natureinfocus.blog/2015/07/29/plant-fossils-at-cape-enrage/#jp-carousel-41555 Calamites: Source - https://geologytrails.wordpress.com/2014/03/#jp-carousel-77 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diginupbones Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 21 minutes ago, OldMachineShop said: I did some google image searching based on the terms referenced above, and have found a few samples that are very close to what I have. Pictures and source below. To my eye the Calamite looks nearly identical, with even the same rust coloring. Nice job on doing your own research! I learned something new today. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now