Unknown fossil from Seaham

[James Pattison]

Hi everyone, 

 

We found this unusual looking ?fossil? at Seaham in the shoreline. The pattern on it is striking but what was unexpected is that it is on both sides. The whole item is about 2 inches thick and curved. It looks like the pattern on it is quite worn but is still visible. My first thought was is was bark of some kind as I know plant fossils are common at Seaham but when I discovered it was both sides I joked that it looked more like part of a body of a fish. I would appreciate any input - probably nothing that exciting.  Photos show each side of the item.

[Auspex]

This is Stigmaria. It is a cast of the root/rhizome of a Carboniferous Lycopod.

[Jaimin013]

Agreed, Stigmaria root

[Tidgy's Dad]

Quite a nice find! 

[James Pattison]

Thanks all, your expertise is very much appreciated once again. Makes sense that Seaham is known for plant fossils, just wasn't expecting to find a piece so big! That was the only thing we found at Seaham today unfortunately - we thought we'd try somewhere with Carboniferous deposits since our last trip to Port Mulgrave was to find Jurassic items. Looking at what some of these plant species were like as a complete specimen it is very impressive are some were very large compared to most European trees today. Now I know what to look for next time we are there!