Rocky Stoner Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Hello folks, thanks for this great forum and fantastic participants. I sort of stumbled into this fossil thing. Always enjoyed looking at the neat little critters in the rocks (shale) while shoveling them into the potholes in the driveway and dirt road to our house. Never really gave them much thought. I always kept my eyes open for native artifacts, that was/is my real passion. The small patch of land I bought is in the boondocks and has never worked, other than timber cutting. When I built my house, I found about 20 arrowheads just in the area of the house excavation, site grading and the septic drain field. This is what keeps me looking down. I recently plowed the small 30x40 foot patch to search for more arrowheads (excuse to wife being "to plant a blackberry patch") which I might still do. Anyway, I flipped up some pretty awesome chunks of fossil ridden shale. I've never seen this density of critters before. The plow of course ripped the shale out so I decided to do another "dig" by removing the top soil by hand, then working my way by hand down into the shale to determine the angle and general make-up of the layering. Amazingly, the layering is about 60 deg from vertical with a 2" to 4" thick layer of pure fossils. This may be common and hum drum to folks in the know, but it is amazing to me. All of that to say this ... I have pulled out several of the chunks and would love to share them with anyone interested in breaking into one. I'd thought of contacting an administrator to offer some on the auction with the proceeds to benefit this fine forum. If anyone is interested, I can send a box of these fantastic Mahantango chunks of the past for you to enjoy. I am awestruck by these, maybe you would be too ..... maybe not. Sort of a shame, I'm just busting them up looking for another trilobite. Kindest regards, Rocky Stoner PS: I'll get some pics. tomorrow. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 And it's nice to have you aboard. Your enthusiasm is contagious and your curiosity and willingness to learn keeps us all on our toes Looking forward to more pics. 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Welcome, officially, to the Forum. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Glad to have you with us, and it is quite exciting to have a little dig going on in finding fossils on your own home turf! At least after a long, hard day of digging, you don't have to go far for a rest! Sure saves on gas! Fingers crossed you'll find another trilobite soon! The blackberry patch can wait for now 1 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossilian Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Welcome to the Fossil Forum! It's very cool how you have a site in your yard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Stoner Posted July 3, 2017 Author Share Posted July 3, 2017 On 7/1/2017 at 7:52 AM, Kane said: Glad to have you with us, and it is quite exciting to have a little dig going on in finding fossils on your own home turf! At least after a long, hard day of digging, you don't have to go far for a rest! Sure saves on gas! Fingers crossed you'll find another trilobite soon! The blackberry patch can wait for now Thanks Kane. And thanks to you all for the welcome. I didn't get to do much digging over the weekend, (had to sneak out to replace the wife's scrub brush and bucket, kitchen broom, wisk broom and the soft brass brush for the barbecue grill before they get noticed as missing). Here is a pic of several chunks "as harvested", then rinse/scrubbed off, then a few closeups. In one pic, I cannot determine if there are 2 tilobites, or portions of bracheopods. Maybe you could confirm, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Stoner Posted July 3, 2017 Author Share Posted July 3, 2017 .... a couple more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Stoner Posted July 3, 2017 Author Share Posted July 3, 2017 oh, almost forgot the other pics. Here they are. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 The last 2 are definitely trilobite pygdileums. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 On 7/3/2017 at 11:09 AM, Rocky Stoner said: oh, almost forgot the other pics. Here they are. Thanks. On 7/3/2017 at 11:06 AM, Rocky Stoner said: .... a couple more. On 7/3/2017 at 11:01 AM, Rocky Stoner said: Thanks Kane. And thanks to you all for the welcome. I didn't get to do much digging over the weekend, (had to sneak out to replace the wife's scrub brush and bucket, kitchen broom, wisk broom and the soft brass brush for the barbecue grill before they get noticed as missing). Here is a pic of several chunks "as harvested", then rinse/scrubbed off, then a few closeups. In one pic, I cannot determine if there are 2 tilobites, or portions of bracheopods. Maybe you could confirm, thanks. My mouth is absolutely watering over that! Man, I wish I had a Paleozoic dig in my back yard! Speaking of that, Do you know the age range of your site, or the formation it's from? Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 1 hour ago, MeargleSchmeargl said: Speaking of that, Do you know the age range of your site, or the formation it's from Mahantango formation middle Devonian givetian “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 24 minutes ago, WhodamanHD said: Mahantango formation middle Devonian givetian Maybe I should visit the formation one day to see what I can scrape together! Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 4 minutes ago, MeargleSchmeargl said: Maybe I should visit the formation one day to see what I can scrape together! Go for it! Georgias a trip away, but the density of fossils in the mahantango is incredible. The montour pit is a well known site, but they are spread throughout the mid-Atlantic. If your ever in Maryland, send me a pm and i can tell you a good site for the formation. 1 “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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