Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | The Modern Antiquarian Forum

Rupert Soskin

234 posts

Re: BUY IT NOW!

Jan 28, 2008, 21:28

Hi Scubi,
I agree with you that the pulped indentations could have been made when the tree fell. The most exciting thing about them though, is the fact that they can only happen on soft tissue. Actually it was those marks more than anything else that convinced me it was really wood and not a freak piece of mudstone.
As for the notches, it's not unusual to have crystals forming in irregular rock surfaces, in fact, if you mooch around the rocks close by in the field, there are calcite crystals which look superficially similar. The thing is the way they have affected the 'tree trunk' matrix. If it was normal crystal growth in stone it would not have caused the lateral shift... if you see what I mean. The 'dragged' bark would simply not be there.

There was one geologist I really wanted to check this out for me, Dr Alan Timms, ex Natural History and Geology Museum, a man who taught me more about the earth than anyone. Unfortunately I can't track him down since he took early retirement and I just haven't had the time to find a dendrochronologist to get on the case. The sad fact is that there is no non-destructive way to verify it. You'd have to take various samples, possibly even a core, and I can't see the authorities rushing in to that:-)

Bloody ought to though!

Rupert

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Re: BUY IT NOW! (scubi63)

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Re: BUY IT NOW! (FourWinds)

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