BongoVan Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Hi guys, first off - I know nothing about fossils apart from what I saw in a few documentaries on Discovery and read on NewScientist. Hence probably the stupidest question anyone has asked on here, but I'm curious because it might be something cool. My daughter an I go for a walk up the road to the beach, in the recent few weeks we have had a lot of rain and this hill by the beach has had a lot of soil that has eroded away (or whatever the correct term is). I noticed there are a few charred bits of trees that were sticking out of the soil, given that the tree is way down the layers (maybe 3-4 meters deep) i figured maybe it's quite old and it might be worth me bringing a shovel and having a dig? Attached a few pics of the hill itself and a few closeups of bits of trees that are sticking out. If anyone could please tell me whether this is nothing special or whether this could be something cool that would be great. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 (edited) Looks fossily to me! Although I am not familiar with your area and not sure about an ID... I would be chiseling it out (provided you're allowed too) and looking further for some other things that may not be quite as noticeable?! Welcome to the forum BTW! Edited May 25, 2013 by lissa318 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BongoVan Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 Hey thanks mate. Yeah there are no problem digging around there, its not a "reserve" of any type. Ill go have a dig later this afternoon then and will report back here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down under fossil hunter Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 G'day from across the ditch Bongo Van. Looks like some sort of carbonised plant remains to me but there are others on here who would be more specific. If you can tell us exactly where in NZ you found it we may have someone who is familiar with that location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 I have no knowledge of material from your locale, but someone will. Regarding finding something cool, you have already accomplished that. Time with your daughter, walking in nature; no discovery can surpass that treasure. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 You're welcome and agree with Snolly! Spending time with your daughter on your walks is priceless!!!! Love your pic of her. She looks so happy and so cute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdevey Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Looks like some cabonized fossil wood. The beach geology looks interesting, the deposits may have a volcanic component? Looks like a great place to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BongoVan Posted May 26, 2013 Author Share Posted May 26, 2013 (edited) Hey thanks guys, and yup we hang out all the time its great fun. Now that she has learnt that there might be "fossils" somewhere we spent about an hour there this afternoon digging around. The location is here hopefully that works, that point is the hill itself. When i started chipping off those bits of clay they came off in layers, like some slices were about 3-4 inches across, i found a few leaf patterns in there (pic attached). There are a few layers of clay and then some kind of black charred type stuff, and then clay again, etc. But apart from the leafs and a few weird patterns here and there in there we didnt see anything else, then again i'm not too sure what to look for. It was cool that clay flaked off relatively easily so it was easy to see what was underneath without having to dig and damage the insides. p.s. bdevey yup there is a volcanic layer just further out, i mean the whole place used to be a volcano, and there are dormant volcanos all throughout the north island in NZ, just hopefully they stay dormant. But yeah this beach has a layer of rock pools just out from this hill which are volcanic. Edited May 26, 2013 by BongoVan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Thats a really nice leaf! "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 That is a nice leaf.. which tells me chances are the site is already known to somebody, and you (or someone on the Forum) could look into the knowledge base and tell you the age, what kinds of fossils, etc. If not, even better - new site discovery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BongoVan Posted May 26, 2013 Author Share Posted May 26, 2013 Hey thanks, I tried looking on this forum but couldnt find the knowledge base to check whether this location has already known or not. Could you please post a link please and i'll check it. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdevey Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 I found a couple links for you.. First your local, geology club/group.....second a geologic paper for Wemouth,Auckland... I think it is all about your beach? enjoy, Bob p.s. you live in a very cool geologic area. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Looks like trees fossilized after a fire to me, probably Pleistocene, best guess. Nice specimens. 1 "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BongoVan Posted May 27, 2013 Author Share Posted May 27, 2013 Hey thanks very much for the information guys, and that paper is spot on about my area. I never thought i'd have enough patience to read through a PDF of this size. I gotta say, this is the first time I have come across a forum where the people are this helpful. I guess maybe its because I spent the past 13-14 years mainly on automotive forums, the culture seems quite different. Nothing's wrong with the car folk - they are a good bunch, but this is quite new to me where people go out of their way to find helpful information, etc. Thanks again! Going to have another go at that hill this afternoon after work, will post if I find anything else. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Looks like trees fossilized after a fire to me, probably Pleistocene, best guess. Nice specimens. It might not necessarily have been burnt, plant material tends to preserve as a black coal-type substance (carbon) though I don't know how long that process takes. Every bit of plant material I find in my local Cretaceous is black, including leaves. What we call 'petrified wood' is typically replaced by silica. 1 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