English flint found on the Potomac river

[StoneHunter]

Here are some pics of flint I've collected from the shores of the Potomac river. This flint was carried to the colonies as ballast in English merchant ships and dumped in the river prior to reaching their destination.


I call these "beans" and have collected more than 100 of them over the years. They are typically either black or a caramel color on the inside.






This is a piece of flint that I've taken some flakes off of to test its workability.

 

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[ToddsPoint]

It's hard for me to believe those rounded pebbles are flint. Flint is extremely resistant to weathering and I've never seen rounded, water smoothed flint pebbles. I'd like to see a bean popped in half. The yellow piece you chipped, on the other hand, definitely looks like English flint. Gary

 

[gunsil]

I have never seen small ballast stones, I do not think those pebbles are ballast stones.

 

[Tommybuckets]

I've only seen the larger often square-ish ballast stones. Occasionally coral chunks that came up from the islands as ballast. Am I learning something here or being misled lol.

 

[Grizz12]

your beans look like typical river rocks

 

[StoneHunter]

It's hard for me to believe those rounded pebbles are flint. Flint is extremely resistant to weathering and I've never seen rounded, water smoothed flint pebbles. I'd like to see a bean popped in half. The yellow piece you chipped, on the other hand, definitely looks like English flint. Gary

I don't typically keep the "beans" if they're broken, having found so many of them. Here are some pics of one that was broken when collected and a small one I broke.




This image illustrates just how numerous these small flint pebbles are in England (read the caption).

 

[StoneHunter]

I have never seen small ballast stones, I do not think those pebbles are ballast stones.

Hello gunsil,

I don't pretend to know how the stone was collected but I'm told there are records showing the stone was collected in large sacks. I hunted in England and I can tell you the country is absolutely covered in flint. I even found an echinoid fossil.

 

[StoneHunter]

I've only seen the larger often square-ish ballast stones. Occasionally coral chunks that came up from the islands as ballast. Am I learning something here or being misled lol.

LOL! Is that B-more from Maryland? I assure you I'm not trying to mislead anyone. While reading up on the subject of how flint is formed, I came across an article about arrowheads made of English flint haven been found in Jamestown!

 

[meMiner]

I love the story. If only rocks could talk.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Your beans do indeed look like flint. It took many a year to get them that shape, probably wave action. Gary

 

[Jon Stewart]

I thought the root beer colored flint was French and the dark was English flint.

 

[Lunch Bag]

We used to live in a historical seaport where sailing ships from Europe would unload before continuing on.

The foundation of our home was constructed entirely of ballast blocks from around the world.

 

[Tommybuckets]

Yep, I too have a basement made from ballast stones! There's not much stone on the shore except what was dumped to load goods. Stonehunter, you did teach me something and I spotted a piece of flint at the colonial site this weekend that looks to be British so I must thank you and apologize. I wouldn't have known what it was except for looking at this post before detecting this weekend lol.

 

[Lygore]

Nodule ballast

Your beans do indeed look like flint. It took many a year to get them that shape, probably wave action. Gary

Those “beans” look just like small chert/flint nodules that were made in small “bubbles” within the host rock, be it chalk or another sedimentary rock.
Flint/chert occurs mostly in carbonate sedimentary rocks as nodules or layers. Flint is a dark-colored variety of chert.
I know all kinds of heavy items were used as ballast, so I’m assuming it’s pretty realistic that bags of readily available stones that would fit around and in almost every hold of the ship is completely realistic.
I find small nodules of chert that are very similar to those. They’re very common in irregular shaped nodules, also. Hope this helps. Great finds!