Need help with this rock i found today

JakePhelps

Silver Member
Jul 7, 2005
3,020
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Massachusetts
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Tesoro Cibola
While detecting in the woods today i noticed a rock that seemed kinda strange, i brushed off some leaves and found that it had a hole in the middle :o The hole is about the size of a chipmunk hole. It is definetly man-made (unless chipmunks can drill rock :D). I may try and carry it home tomarow but its a good mile walk out to it so it will be a good work-out if i do ;D Any ideas on what it may be ???
 

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It use to be a wheel Jake.





Just kiddin! :D I don't know.....but it is neat!!!!!


;)
 

Is it Near a Mine ?

Could it Be What's Left Of a Hole that was Drilled For DYNAMITE ?

This Or Maby Drilled To Hold A Post, For unknown Reasons.

I don't Know How to Make Fire, But Could It Be Used To Hold a Stick In Place While Spinning ot Back & Forth To Make a Fire ?

Or could it have Been Used as a Mortar ?
 

Is the hole drilled clean through, or is it just a depression in the rock? Also, how thick is the rock? Looks like slate from here, just curious.
 

Some rocks like these are explained like this . A soft round rock is sitting on a flat hard rock in a stream and the water starts to turn the round rock on the flatrock and the round one over time grinds itself away to the point where it is washed away by the current leaving a flat rock with a round hole in it . So if this rock is near a waterway you have a possible scenario . If not I could be on crack and not even be too sure of which planet I'm on .
 

It use to be a wheel Jake.
You never know! maybe someone started re-inventing the wheel and never finished :D

Is it Near a Mine ?

Nope no mines in my town :-\

Is the hole drilled clean through

Yep all the way! Its not slate but i think its a sedimentary or metamorphic rock, its a more common one around here.
As for thickness im not sure...I will try and carry it home tomarow, but its pretty heavy to lug thru the woods.

Some rocks like these are explained like this . A soft round rock is sitting on a flat hard rock in a stream and the water starts to turn the round rock on the flatrock and the round one over time grinds itself away to the point where it is washed away by the current leaving a flat rock with a round hole in it . So if this rock is near a waterway you have a possible scenario . If not I could be on crack and not even be too sure of which planet I'm on .

LOL :D Actaully It was near a small little stream that only runs when the snow melts, but i find that unlikely...
 

Might it have been a holder for a property stake at one point? Are there any homes near the place you found it?
 

That was my first guess....But all the property markers around here that are old are just small impressions in a rock, not a huge hole going thru it, but it could be.
 

Hmmm, what about a kid 80 years ago with nothing to do, wandering through the woods and stumbling actoss this nice flat rock. Say that same kid got a pocket knife for his birthday.... ??? How about a marker for some farmer 100 year ago to remember where he buried his cache? :o
 

Could be a cache marker. However it looks to be an old Mill stone or possibly an old grind stone. Compare the surface to that of an Arkansas sharpening stone.

Cool find though
HH
RainDog
 

Not sure, i dont think a knife did it though, but it could be an unfinished mill sonte maybe? I tried detecting under and around it...No cache :D
 

some folks in the old days drilled holes in rocks and used them for a cheap anchor. When the rope rotted through they got another rock. exanimo, ss
 

Jake, I 'm not sure what metamorphic rock is but we have a lot of limestone around here. If it is a thin layer of limestone many times an impression will be turned into a hole if water collects and freezes in the impression over the years. It's not that uncommon as I have seen quite a few of those holes in limestone rock. JIM
 

Good mystery Jake, and a lot of good possibilities. I personally like the idea of a place used to start fires. Let us know if you come up with anything...Lance
 

Today after i get home from school i will try and carry it home and clean it up, maybe there is wear to somewhere on the rock that could give us a hint of its use.
 

CASE CLOSED!

This is easy, it's from a drip of water dripping on the rock for a long time. Any tree branches over the rock high in the trees? Even a gorge or water fall in the area? Could have happened a million years ago in a different place. We see these things a lot in the Gorges of Watkins Glen.

You see the edges look to be smooth, man would make small cuts in the rock with a drill. Also notice that the hole has like a crater effect where the hole is wide at the top and concaved into a smaller point. That shows like a splash like pattern of a drip.

CASE CLOSED!

Keep @ it and HH!!
 

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