AAI Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Total amature here. Found this unusual stone in a local field in The Scottish central belt area near a river. It is a heavy stone with weird curves on either side and a sort of glaze on these side surfaces. Seems a bit weird and unlike any stones I have seen in the area. It is reasonably symmetrical but not 100% - but wondering if some of that could be down to erosion . The outer side has a few unusual small pits. Interested to hear any opinions. Fully prepared to just go back to my day job. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Looks like a piece of ceramic to me. Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Reminds me of a piece of pipework. 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...
ynot Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 I agree that it looks like a ceramic pipe fragment. 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...
TqB Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 One more for ceramic. It might be worth showing to an archaeologist just in case it has any significant age to it. Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Looks like a deeply weathered glacial erratic to me. Note that the outer rind is a different color. I agree that the first pic looks like a pipe section though. Doesn't look like anything ceramic to me. These are all my opinions of course and am not saying this object is anything definitely. Can we see a close up (should say "closer up") around the hole in pic three? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAI Posted June 12, 2018 Author Share Posted June 12, 2018 Wow, awesomely fast response, much appreciated. Can totally see why the first one looks like a broken pipe and maybe it is :-) What seems so unusual is despite it looking like this on pic 1 the same shape is mirrored on the other side. In fact it has funny curvature on 4 sides (2 have more of a glaze) culminating on a flatter side (which has a few holes). I am finding it quite difficult to take pictures to illustrate the bizarre shape, and have tried to be creative and take a picture in a mirror to help illustrate. I have included a more detailed one of the hole too. Thanks for your assistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 we can rule out ceramic pipe I'd say! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Are these all one item? Best to get pictures from each of the 4 sides, top, and bottom - from directly above the item. Also, can you be a bit more specific as to where this was found? Local county or village/town/city? I'm not familiar with central belt area of Scotland. 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...
Auspex Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 I can think of no natural process that could have created this extraordinarily convoluted, symmetrical form. Neither can I think of any possible purpose it could have been fabricated to perform...but I cannot believe that it is a product of nature. Consultation with an Archaeologist might bring a solution, and I would be fascinated to hear it! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAI Posted June 12, 2018 Author Share Posted June 12, 2018 Yes, all the same object. I live in a small village in Renfrewshire (West of Scotland) in a fairly rural setting and it was bizarrely found in a rough grassy field (not used for farming) where I walk my dog, approx 50 yards from a river. It is surprisingly heavy for the size of it, and feels like solid rock. As I say, I know next to nothing about this subject but this item intrigues me. I will endeavour to take the pictures tomorrow evening. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Question: Who found it, you or your dog? " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Stoner Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Looks like maybe a piece of pottery of sorts. Maybe around the handle of a crock, or clay pot. Could also be a piece of a broken up figurine or other decorative piece. Just guessing. And that mirror trick is a good idea, it really helps. Very interesting to watch ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike from North Queensland Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Interesting piece and I am in the ceramic camp and suspect some sort of electrical insulator. I did notice some fine fragments coming from the broken edges, are these fine roots other mineral like asbestos? A burn test would tell as fine roots will burn off but asbestos will not. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAI Posted June 13, 2018 Author Share Posted June 13, 2018 If the item is of interest then I found it, otherwise it can be the dogs fault! :-) I have added 4 pics as suggested from each side and above (4th one at the end). Note the item weighs 2.2kg. Interesting call on an insulator. The shiny parts could work for that. Would maybe expect to see cable wear on the middle arch if it were used for that though, and perhaps something that would have allowed it to have been attached to something (not that I know anything about that subject really though). If it were manufactured it appear less engineered than I might have expected at least in modern day terms. Sculpture of some type may be an other good call. It is also moving my thoughts away from the naturally organic form I initially thought it may have originally been. I have provided a further picture of a rougher portion of the item and wondering if it may have been be more of a cast item then, rather than a natural item. I am learning lots - how hard it is to take pictures, how hard it is to review pictures, but also the fun of discovery (or not!). I have also added an updated picture on the hole following advice given (the white is just light). I am beginning to wonder then that this is not anything really of great interest, but appreciate the help you have provided. I have taken a look at history in the local area and understand there to have been mills, a Roman presence and bronze age artefacts found, so certainly an interesting history lesson, so good all round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 am surprised that no one suggested it was a bone. I don't think it is; but if you squint... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Paleontologist Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 6 hours ago, Plax said: am surprised that no one suggested it was a bone. I don't think it is; but if you squint... Some of the angles do look like maybe a large carpal bone or something. Some of the pictures also look like it has kind of a bone structure. Then again, others do not. It can be so very difficult to tell from pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAI Posted June 14, 2018 Author Share Posted June 14, 2018 My original thought was bone hence bringing it to the forum. But as a complete novice I really have no idea though. Presume the only real easy to find out is to take it to a museum where it can be seen in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 am anxiously awaiting a specific determination (we are all just guessing) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 You gave us the info, that it is heavy for its size. Can you determine the specific gravity? A kitchen scale, a container with water and a string would be all that is necessary. Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAI Posted June 14, 2018 Author Share Posted June 14, 2018 Done some reading up on this and took a measurement of 1.96 (weight of object divided by weight of displaced water). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Thanks for the specific gravity! 1.96 is not very high, lower than most rocks (> 2.5). But it seems that there is some porosity. Ceramic would still fit, but I am not totaly sure now. Strange object, indeed! Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAI Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 Thanks for the feedback, as I lowered the item in the water there were a few areas where bubbles started to stream from, so there did seem to be some porosity. I have heard that the museum does an open day where you can take along objects, but it seems that the next one is not until next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Maybe you can send an email to the museum with a link to this thread? Maybe at least you can get another opinion. Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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