We occasionally turn these composite stones up in the gardens. They are imprinted with the fossilized remains of wildlife that lived here millennia ago. I guess this spot has always attracted wildlife!
I would love to find something like that here ! Hope you are keeping those rocks MG ! Looks like compressed sandstone which may be why the outlines are so clear !
Yes, we are keeping all the stones we find except the three we gave to the local elementary school to encourage students' curiosity and perhaps knowledge. They are compressed sandstone from an ancient sea bed. (Mart, your knowledge constantly amazes me!) A friend who is a geologist explained to us why we had them (we are on an ancient glacial ridge) and what to do with them--wash gently and then exhibit. Who knew gardening could be so exciting, so "Indiana Jones-ish" and with a few books and some research, so educational?
They are compressed sandstone from an ancient sea bed. Well,, that answers my next question ! How they came to be on the surface where you could find them !
Sjoerd, we have a book that identifies the skeleton/imprints. I'll dig it out (no pun, well, maybe!) and try to ID some of them and post what they are.
Heh, heh, heh-- To pun or not to pun, that is the question... that puzzled Hamlet as well, isn't it. I am excited that you are planning to see if you can discover the identity of some of the beasts fossilized on that glob of compressed sandstone (thanks Mart). You know Jane--I thought it was quite something to find old pipe bowls out the 1600's. But this...this is something to really wow about.
Sjoerd, check out my new post "What's in a rock." I'm still working on IDs, but at least we have a start.
Wow!!! What a great find I have dug out tons of rocks … maybe a few hundred kilos and have never seen any thing like this
An old seabed... Do you know if that ancient seabed is still relatively intact below the surface? Or if these rocks are all that remain?
Cayuga, the Balcones Escarpment is near us--basically the remains of a sea canyon wall--and it is jam packed with fossils. I think we are on the outer edge of what was a sea bed, and this part of the bed is relatively intact. It can't be too far down, or so many of the composite stones wouldn't have surfaced. KK, we dug and moved flat stones from a field to make our patio when we lived in town. That isn't easy work! A few hundred kilos? You must be very, very strong or very, very determined.
I keep looking back at that stone. It sort of resembles wall paintings from Aboriginals or Indians. It is just fascinating. Have you dug up the names of any more creatures? You know, I see this whitish circular depression in your stone over to the left a bit. Is this where a little clam-like bivalve once resided? Great posting.
