Archeology/geology/fossils meta-thread

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20847]

I love it when cool, unexpected shit is discovered.

A Roman beaker just emerged from the Thames river mud.  Dates from 70-160 AD.
 

 

Edited May 12, 2019 by Horn Under a Bad Sign

[52-80 19374]

jesus christ, marie, theyre minerals

[Nivek 17350]

Roman jizz jar.?

[miguelito 11451]

It belongs in a museum!

[ClubWhatever 12277]

That thing was in a Frontgate catalog

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

17 minutes ago, ClubWhatever said:

That thing was in a Frontgate catalog

Ahh the Mediterranean salt and pepper grinders 

[Armybrat 41334]

While cruising up & down the Thames in London last summer, I remarked to my Brit host friend that it must be a fascinating hobby to be a local “ mud larked”, what with 2,000+ years of lost stuff to find.

[Parliament 14572]

Was it your beaker they just found?

[Mojo Hand 4580]

What about Bunsen? 

[Longhornstampede 3208]

This one?

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk

[Longhornstampede 3208]

But seriously... this thread is timely. My friend from Jalisco sent me this pic of something he found on his father's land. Definitely not an arrowhead, more like a Tomahawk missile. Anyone ever seen one this size and what information I might be able to find out about it for him?

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk

[Judge Roybeanbag 11856]

Looks like an obsidian notched spear point.  Fantastic looking.  Could be Mayan, similar to this:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/mayan-mecca-obsidian-notched-blade-or-spear

google image search “mahogany obsidian dovetail” and you’ll see a bunch of similar ones. 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Judge Roybeanbag

[Hornius Emeritus 12781]

1 hour ago, Longhornstampede said:

But seriously... this thread is timely. My friend from Jalisco sent me this pic of something he found on his father's land. Definitely not an arrowhead, more like a Tomahawk missile. Anyone ever seen one this size and what information I might be able to find out about it for him?

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
 

WOAH.  That thing is probably worth a shit ton of money.  I've never seen anything like that.

[DoobieWah 1529]

I'm pretty sure that's a modern reproduction.

Think about it - what practical use did a subsistence native have for that? He wasn't hunting dragons. Look at how big of a tree trunk you would need to haft that thing. You couldn't pick it up, much less throw it. And any ritual piece would be far more finely worked than that.

An artifact with any age to it, lying in the dirt for any length of time would produce a dull oxidation on the surface called the "patina". That has none.

That said, this is a great idea for a thread and as many country boys and hunters as we have on this site, I'll be there are quite a few authentic collections out there. I have a few dozen of my own collected in Lee, Polk and Williamson Counties.

So let's see some of what you guys have picked up.

I am very interested.

 

[52-80 19374]

2 hours ago, DoobieWah said:

I'm pretty sure that's a modern reproduction.

Think about it - what practical use did a subsistence native have for that? He wasn't hunting dragons. Look at how big of a tree trunk you would need to haft that thing. You couldn't pick it up, much less throw it. And any ritual piece would be far more finely worked than that.

An artifact with any age to it, lying in the dirt for any length of time would produce a dull oxidation on the surface called the "patina". That has none.

That said, this is a great idea for a thread and as many country boys and hunters as we have on this site, I'll be there are quite a few authentic collections out there. I have a few dozen of my own collected in Lee, Polk and Williamson Counties.

So let's see some of what you guys have picked up.

I am very interested.

 

Natives needed it to ward off the White Walkers

[Matuka 1320]

got one of those at a Stuckey's in the 70's

[El Diablo 4232]

34 minutes ago, Matuka said:

got one of those at a Stuckey's in the 70's

Whole lotta New Age folks descended on Mexico in '87 for the Harmonic Convergence and bought a lot of hokey trinkets. Some got stoned as shit and dropped their souvenirs. 

[Spaulding Smails 1610]

Love this stuff!  We've found a number of common fossils in our creek bed in the last few months after major rains.  Tons of deer hears and several ammonites and steinkerns.  

I found an old, unspent rifle cartridge out at the ranch in Kimble Co a few months ago.  Gave it to my mom, and she did some research to find the caliber.  I think the made a little shadow box for it.  I'll post pics later, but we think it may have been from a calvaryman at Ft McKavett.  We're about 20 miles south of the Fort.

[Spaulding Smails 1610]

Finally remembered to snag a picture of the shadow box of the shell we found at the ranch.  Pretty cool stuff.  From the late 1860s.

[NowThis 931]

On 5/12/2019 at 8:52 PM, Longhornstampede said:

But seriously... this thread is timely. My friend from Jalisco sent me this pic of something he found on his father's land. Definitely not an arrowhead, more like a Tomahawk missile. Anyone ever seen one this size and what information I might be able to find out about it for him?

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
 

something that big, if real, would be used to cut the skin off the killed prey - before the meat is put on the fire. Probably a hand knife.  

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

55 minutes ago, NowThis said:

something that big, if real, would be used to cut the skin off the killed prey - before the meat is put on the fire. Probably a hand knife.  

Then it probably wouldn't have the base that looks like it's meant to be strapped to a pole.  It'd have a rounded, fat end that would fit in your palm. Only one side/face would would edged.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11856]

Good thread.  Out on my place I’ve found some points, most of them broken and a lot of impromptu scrapers and slicers.  But the coolest find was a spot where someone had been knapping, a large piece with smaller pieces around that fit back together mostly.  The rock apparently came from Flint Knob, a hill about 5 miles away near Verdes off Hamilton Pool road.  

[Reagan1k 3042]

3 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

Finally remembered to snag a picture of the shadow box of the shell we found at the ranch.  Pretty cool stuff.  From the late 1860s.

.50 caliber round pushed by 70 grains of black powder....

That's really awesome.  That was one big slug.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

1 hour ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Good thread.  Out on my place I’ve found some points, most of them broken and a lot of impromptu scrapers and slicers.  But the coolest find was a spot where someone had been knapping, a large piece with smaller pieces around that fit back together mostly.  The rock apparently came from Flint Knob, a hill about 5 miles away near Verdes off Hamilton Pool road.  

The first house we lived in was surrounded by 5 acres. There was a rock outcropping, and apparently it was where the local Indians came to make arrow heads, and other stone implements.  there were hundreds of pieces of broken points, and lots of flint pieces in a pretty concentrated area.  

[Judge Roybeanbag 11856]

10 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

The first house we lived in was surrounded by 5 acres. There was a rock outcropping, and apparently it was where the local Indians came to make arrow heads, and other stone implements.  there were hundreds of pieces of broken points, and lots of flint pieces in a pretty concentrated area.  

Yeah, west of Austin there were only a few places where large deposits of chert or flint were.  After I did some research I found it was not too far from where I was finding stuff.

https://texasbeyondhistory.net/plateaus/images/ap2.html

 

 

[BabaYaga 15533]

11 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

The first house we lived in was surrounded by 5 acres. There was a rock outcropping, and apparently it was where the local Indians came to make arrow heads, and other stone implements.  there were hundreds of pieces of broken points, and lots of flint pieces in a pretty concentrated area.  

We have bluffs on our place overlooking a creek that snakes it's way through the property.  Whole area covered in native american campsites.  We had buckets of arrowheads, scrapers, discarded pieces of flint.  There are numerous mounds as well always thought to be trash mounds.  Entertained bringing out archaeologists, then decided to leave them alone.  What's neat are all the burnt, red rocks (Usually softball to coconut sized).  Was always told as a kid they'd put them in the fire, get them nice and hot, then move them into whatever structure they slept in to help keep it warm.  

[Hornius Emeritus 12781]

This is pretty cool. The foundation of the Alamo's long barracks has been located:

 

 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

10 minutes ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

This is pretty cool. The foundation of the Alamo's long barracks has been located:

 

 

They found them under the Taco Bell next door ?

[Zwylde 822]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/14/us/woolly-mammoth-tooth-ohio-trnd-scn/index.html

 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4999]

18 hours ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

This is pretty cool. The foundation of the Alamo's long barracks has been located:

 

 

Calvary courtyard? Maybe they'll find some biblical relics.

[Hornius Emeritus 12781]

Photos of a German submarine that was sunk in the Gulf of Mexico in World War II:


https://www.lmtonline.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/Sunken-Nazi-era-U-boat-found-Texas-coast-14360440.php

[texasdago 7754]

Necrobump...

 

Took a walk at Shoal Creek for lunch today and dug up a couple of quick fossils in a couple of minutes... common fossilized shells but I still find that stuff fascinating.  Anyone here go digging for stuff like that in Austin?  I'd like to take one of my sons to see what we can find.

 

Around Memorial Day we went out to a ranch in Mason and did some digging around... found mostly quartz and "rocks" but I know that area is geologically very rich.  Not so much in fossils, I don't think.

[52-80 19374]

47 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Necrobump...

 

Took a walk at Shoal Creek for lunch today and dug up a couple of quick fossils in a couple of minutes... common fossilized shells but I still find that stuff fascinating.  Anyone here go digging for stuff like that in Austin?  I'd like to take one of my sons to see what we can find.

 

Around Memorial Day we went out to a ranch in Mason and did some digging around... found mostly quartz and "rocks" but I know that area is geologically very rich.  Not so much in fossils, I don't think.

besides the very usual mollusc / bivalve shells....... crinoid stem ("texas pop rocks") would be the easiest identifiable and found in texas. 

 

a trilobite would be a nice trophy but ive never managed one

[texasdago 7754]

I was reading that Walnut Creek is a great spot to go poking around.  

 

[YChang 3533]

Well this is pretty cool: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/03/world/europe/metal-detector-axe.html

[idigTexas 2324]

20 hours ago, texasdago said:

Necrobump...

 

Took a walk at Shoal Creek for lunch today and dug up a couple of quick fossils in a couple of minutes... common fossilized shells but I still find that stuff fascinating.  Anyone here go digging for stuff like that in Austin?  I'd like to take one of my sons to see what we can find.

 

Around Memorial Day we went out to a ranch in Mason and did some digging around... found mostly quartz and "rocks" but I know that area is geologically very rich.  Not so much in fossils, I don't think.

Shoal Creek is where my early '90s geology class would go.  Ammonites in very rough condition and small fossilized shark teeth were common finds.  

[RDCanecutter 26858]

On 12/3/2021 at 11:10 AM, YChang said:

Well this is pretty cool: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/03/world/europe/metal-detector-axe.html

Well alright then. My first metal detector, as a greedy teen, I found 27 cents, and of that I found a quarter and a penny because I was walking around with a metal detector, staring at the ground.

[jw4381 3242]

Love me some rocks n shit  

Pyretized ammonite  

 

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by jw4381

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20847]

2000 Year-Old dagger found:

https://news.yahoo.com/discovery-2000-old-dagger-vital-092955506.html

[52-80 19374]

3 hours ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

2000 Year-Old dagger found:

https://news.yahoo.com/discovery-2000-old-dagger-vital-092955506.html

guy doing X-Ray:  "ah yes, based on the images returned by the machine, i can conclude this is indeed a knife"

[CleverNickname 1345]

A couple of ranch finds

[jw4381 3242]

 

The coast of Maine. 

[GoPokes83 2247]

They found them under the Taco Bell next door ?

I’m really liking the hard hats necessary to scrape off 1/8 inch of dirt at a time.

[Scheiss Meister 8453]

46 minutes ago, jw4381 said:

 

The coast of Maine. 

Gneiss!

[Nivek 17350]

10 hours ago, jw4381 said:

 

The coast of Maine. 

schist, SM beat me to it

Edited November 7, 2022 by Nivek

[Texzilla58 4778]

My greatgrandfathers farm was outside Groesbeck. In his life he collected a museum’s worth of arrowheads, flint tools, fossils, pottery. He showed me different things when I was four and five; they are my few memories as he died soon after. It was one of the catalysts that drove my interest in history and dinosaurs and Indians. The collection was catalogued and was to be donated to the Limestone County Museum, but someone, likely a lowlife cousin, stole it soon after his death. It’s never turned up.

[crash_davis 23465]

Lloyd's Bank Coprolite, also known as the largest fossilized human turd ever found. A Viking took this shit.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lloyds-bank-coprolite

THIS PIECE OF FOSSILIZED VIKING poop is so well-preserved, one paleoscatologist called it as “precious as the crown jewels.” Archaeologists have dated the dung back to the ninth century, when what’s now York was ruled by Norse warrior-kings.

Paleoscatologists determined that the human who deposited this now-renowned, seven-inch specimen had a diet of meat and bread. Unfortunately for that poor, long-dead soul, they also had a handful of intestinal issues. The scat was scattered with Whipworm and Maw-worm eggs, which would have caused stomach aches and other more unfortunate gastrointestinal symptoms.

 

[Brisketexan 106666]

46 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Lloyd's Bank Coprolite, also known as the largest fossilized human turd ever found. A Viking took this shit.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lloyds-bank-coprolite

THIS PIECE OF FOSSILIZED VIKING poop is so well-preserved, one paleoscatologist called it as “precious as the crown jewels.” Archaeologists have dated the dung back to the ninth century, when what’s now York was ruled by Norse warrior-kings.

Paleoscatologists determined that the human who deposited this now-renowned, seven-inch specimen had a diet of meat and bread. Unfortunately for that poor, long-dead soul, they also had a handful of intestinal issues. The scat was scattered with Whipworm and Maw-worm eggs, which would have caused stomach aches and other more unfortunate gastrointestinal symptoms.

 

 

[High Plains Drifter 11162]

3 hours ago, crash_davis said:

Lloyd's Bank Coprolite, also known as the largest fossilized human turd ever found. A Viking took this shit.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lloyds-bank-coprolite

THIS PIECE OF FOSSILIZED VIKING poop is so well-preserved, one paleoscatologist called it as “precious as the crown jewels.” Archaeologists have dated the dung back to the ninth century, when what’s now York was ruled by Norse warrior-kings.

Paleoscatologists determined that the human who deposited this now-renowned, seven-inch specimen had a diet of meat and bread. Unfortunately for that poor, long-dead soul, they also had a handful of intestinal issues. The scat was scattered with Whipworm and Maw-worm eggs, which would have caused stomach aches and other more unfortunate gastrointestinal symptoms.

 

 

@Prepuce of Doom

Doomlet might find this... uh...  interesting.

[Biff Tannen 46069]

This thread is awesome. Viking shit notwithstanding.