✅ SOLVED Is this an old ships ballast? Or what?

[M.West]

I guess it posted it on the wrong area. I live in Soldotna Alaska and collect rocks & artifacts from here. This was given to me and I was told it was found off an Island up here, I believe off the Aluetian chain. No one seems to know. It looks to be some kind of poured cement. It weighs about 40 or 50 lbs, flat on the bottom with curved edges, its about a ft h and 10" across. Sure hope someone might know.

 

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[lab rat]

Anything around it indicating something that rusted away? I have seen concrete blocks and weights used to support pipes or wooden beams for fence support. Sorta looks like one of those. It -might- be ballast, though.

 

[M.West]

No there is no rust at all, in fact for years I thought it was all rock, but looking closely at it, its so perfect all around that it had to of been poured into a mold. We thought maybe it was an ancient type anchor, the artifacts I have found here of stones all have niches in them but the stone anchors have a hole to tie onto. The reason I thought it might be a ballast is because I have a bottle with a round bottom that is a ballast. Sure wish we could find out what it is. Thank you

 

[trikikiwi]

Hi, Welcome to Treasurenet

You have an interesting find.
Could you please post more pics from different angles and a close up of the material?
I have no specific ideas, just need some more input and every little bit of info helps here on T'net.

BTW, you have the distinction of living in Soldotna, as being the place where one of T'nets most puzzling mysteries was found.
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/31485-test-your-skills-one-spent-years-trying-id.html

It cost me a bottle of fine New Zealand wine which went to the ultimate identifier, known here as Bramblefind.
Stick around, you'll have a lot of fun and learn loads.
Cheers, Mike

 

[M.West]

Yes here are more photos. The bottom is rounded can still sit up right tho. The top has tiny particles of rock, the one side has an indent might be from a mold of some kind. Over all is very smooth, doesn't look like cement, I thought it was a huge stone carved out but it isn't. In the late 1800's Russians came over here for furs etc. Was wondering if it might also be a weight and measure of some kind. They did a lot of whaling here also. I appreciate you looking at it, as no one seems to have any idea. I also have stone oil lamp from Kodiak, many artifacts mane out of rocks.

 

[trikikiwi]

I'm fairly confident that you have a natural concretion there.

A picture of other examples from wiki


and a quote from the article
"Cannonball concretions have also been reported from Van Mijenfjorden, Spitsbergen; near Haines Junction, Yukon Territory, Canada; Jameson Land, East Greenland; near Mecevici, Ozimici, and Zavidovici in Bosnia-Herzegovina; in Alaska in the Kenai Peninsula."

Concretion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Still, an interesting conversation piece.

Cheers, Mike

 

[Jason in Enid]

Ballast stones were typically just river rocks and only identifiable because they are in a pile and they are not of a type natural to your area.

 

[M.West]

Oh my gosh, I think you are absolutely correct. I looked up concretion rocks, formation etc and I believe this is it. In our area we have found hundreds of what they call spirit rocks, also we have volcano's and from what I read part of them could come from them. Anyway I am going to put solved. Thank you so much for helping me on this. Mary