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The Modern Antiquarian Forum » "Worked" stone found on the beach at Embleton, |
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mascot 113 posts |
Apr 02, 2012, 15:55
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Looking for a bit of advice/help - found a stone on Embleton beach yesterday, and wondering what it might be. Walked past it at high tide, right at the edge of the tide with water lapping over it. It's about 9cm, by 5cm by 1.25cm (at widest), looks like basalt, weighs 195gms. Interesting bit is that it has a hole through it. Hole looks like it was worked in from both sides, but much more so from one side. On that side the hole tapers down from 2cm diameter to about 1cm, on the other side goes from about 1.3cm to 1 cm. In the center the narrowest part of the whole has been made slightly oval by what looks like wear (at about 11 o'clock in the 4th photo above). This isn't at the point the hole would wear at if you put a rope through it now though..... Photo link here https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=109339365504308220587&target=ALBUM&id=5726811478501913985&authkey=Gv1sRgCMjd5630upb9dw&feat=email On one side the "walls" of the hole are lighter coloured due to what looks like some sort of "concretion"? Nothing similar on the other side. However on that side there is a second, partial tapered hole (0.7cm diameter at it's widest) that tapers out about 0.5cm into the rock. So what does the panel think: 1) Man made or not - been caught out before and have posted on geology rocks forum to see if there are natural explanations. 2) If man made - what is it - loom weight? Fishing net weight? Thanks in advance. Mac
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postman 848 posts |
Apr 02, 2012, 16:02
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mascot wrote: Looking for a bit of advice/help - found a stone on Embleton beach yesterday, and wondering what it might be. Walked past it at high tide, right at the edge of the tide with water lapping over it. It's about 9cm, by 5cm by 1.25cm (at widest), looks like basalt, weighs 195gms. Interesting bit is that it has a hole through it. Hole looks like it was worked in from both sides, but much more so from one side. On that side the hole tapers down from 2cm diameter to about 1cm, on the other side goes from about 1.3cm to 1 cm. In the center the narrowest part of the whole has been made slightly oval by what looks like wear (at about 11 o'clock in the 4th photo above). This isn't at the point the hole would wear at if you put a rope through it now though..... Photo link here https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=109339365504308220587&target=ALBUM&id=5726811478501913985&authkey=Gv1sRgCMjd5630upb9dw&feat=email On one side the "walls" of the hole are lighter coloured due to what looks like some sort of "concretion"? Nothing similar on the other side. However on that side there is a second, partial tapered hole (0.7cm diameter at it's widest) that tapers out about 0.5cm into the rock. So what does the panel think: 1) Man made or not - been caught out before and have posted on geology rocks forum to see if there are natural explanations. 2) If man made - what is it - loom weight? Fishing net weight? Thanks in advance. Mac I'm not on the panel but... I'm gonna go with natural . Iv'e got one almost identical at home but its a different kind of stone, also found on a beach near Calais.
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thesweetcheat 6216 posts |
Apr 02, 2012, 19:44
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postman wrote: I'm not on the panel but... I'm gonna go with natural . Iv'e got one almost identical at home but its a different kind of stone, also found on a beach near Calais. That's three of us, I found one on a beach in Cornwall that could be its twin. I always assumed it was natural.
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mascot 113 posts |
Apr 02, 2012, 21:44
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Got a reply on Geology rocks and it looks like these are holes made by Piddocks, a bi-valve that secretes an acid to bore into rocks to make a "home" for itself - hence the seaside location for all our "finds". Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pholadidae And http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Piddock.htm It's amazing what you learn looking around for "old stuff" :-) Mac
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thesweetcheat 6216 posts |
Apr 02, 2012, 21:53
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Wow! I just assumed the sea "done it". You really do learn something new every day.
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Rhiannon 5291 posts |
Apr 03, 2012, 07:27
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I've got a piece of rock with piddock holes, in fact it's still got a few piddocks in it (I wasn't responsible for this piddock cruelty btw). But it's quite soft rock, shaley stuff. If you say your rock is basalty, could a humble piddock really chew through it? I dunno. It's just my Experience With Piddocks has been with softer rock. Stones with holes are great though aren't they, I'm always looking out for them on the beach. There's folklore for them so you wonder whether they just have a form that catches people's eyes / imagination?
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Resonox 604 posts |
Apr 03, 2012, 07:47
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Stones with holes (non man-made) have always held a fascination for our ancestors. Some folklore claims they are peep-holes into the future and were used as foretelling talismans (I have the faintest recall of hearing it also depends on how you view...looking through the wide end of a taper shows the past and through the narrow end the future...there are also "rotating" procedures for the same effects)...also worn around the neck on a string they are protection against spells ...and wearing "holed" iron ore has the ability to give the wearer strength, same effect wearing a holed stone and a piece of iron/metal (usually a key...for some reason??). A more simplistic point of view might be that they were seen as slightly valuable as they were ready made for transporting and/or wearing...anyone else heard these stories?
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postman 848 posts |
Apr 03, 2012, 16:23
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When I found mine on a beach near Calais after an epic drive round the Alps, my mate found a stone with a hole in it and said oooh that's rare that is and magical, so to prove him wrong from where I was sitting I found three more. Rare? not on the north west coast of France they're not. But they do have a weird musical ping when you throw them just right against other pebbles.
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thesweetcheat 6216 posts |
Apr 03, 2012, 19:10
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Rhiannon wrote: Stones with holes are great though aren't they, I'm always looking out for them on the beach. There's folklore for them so you wonder whether they just have a form that catches people's eyes / imagination? So it's your fault that I hardly ever find any? You've got them all. You piddock mistreater you.
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mascot 113 posts |
Apr 05, 2012, 15:28
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Learning continues today - the rock is Black Limestone (not Basalt) when eroded by the sea it can look like Basalt, it's a hard rock (not as hard as Basalt) but as it's limestone is open to the Piddock Acid Pee method of home construction (like something out of Aliens, but with a lower body count and a des res as the outcome). If it had been Basalt it wouldn't have been a Piddock hole (too hard, not open to acid attack). Mac
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