Re: Chamber pillar a fossil tree trunk? | Forum

Bryn Celli Ddu 12

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Chamber pillar a fossil tree trunk?

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tjj May 13, 2009 22:54:20

Replying to Pete G

I like the sound of the 'ragged rascals' and always warm towards people who qualify their knowledge and enthusiasm with the words 'we're no experts'.

Anyway, this got me on the trail of igneous rock and I discovered that obsidian, which was highly sought after and widely traded for axe heads, belongs to this group.

Lots about rocks here:

http://geology.com/rocks/metamorphic-rocks.shtml

Rupert asked yesterday if I had found or bought my piece of fossilized wood; I bought it in a crystal shop, it is very beautiful and I (carefully) handle it often .....

Sorry, I have digressed slightly, fascinating thread, of great interest.

Rupert Soskin May 13, 2009 23:47:14

Replying to tjj

I agree with you on all counts. The Ragged Rascals sound a great bunch and I think most of us agree that 'expert' tends to mean someone who thinks they know everything worth knowing (that's slightly kinder than Julian's comments in TMA!).

The biggest problem ( IMHO ) with fossil wood is that it it is no longer wood, if you see what I mean. Having turned to stone it will erode accordingly so harsh conditions and greater age will make it harder and harder to recognise. All great fun, and I'm very happy to be wrong. I just want to know.

The reason I asked whether you had found or bought your piece was that if you had found it you could have said where. If you know where it came from you can sometimes get a better idea of possible species. Or were you really lucky and bought it from a shop that gave it a nice provenance sticker?