Need help with this rock i found today

[JakePhelps]

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 The hole is about the size of a chipmunk hole. It is definetly man-made (unless chipmunks can drill rock ). 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 Any ideas on what it may be

 

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[shiningstar76]

the mysteries of the past.......who knows. Shame is we don't know much about our past on this continent.

 

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[JakePhelps]

I Finnally Brought it back!!

Thanks for the info mud! Any idea what this is called? I want to further research it, but its definetly a strong possibility The area is a kind of rocky washed out area and trees are all around it so its possible, but theres still one thing that i find strange, on the inside of the hole it has almost turn marks or something, like a drill or something, but i could be wrong. Its finnally at my house! I lugged this thing all the way thru my woods to my house and its not sitting proudly on my deck i will get better pics tomarow along with some really old finds i found near it. It must weigh over 50 pounds, it was heavy :P

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

I don't know what they call them... Rocks with holes in them I think. ( joking). I like rocks and my dad even more he collects them.? I have spotted holes like the one in your rock, on very large rocks the size of cars. I am almost 100% positive thats what it is from...A drip. I think its well worth the long hard walk home with that Big Rock. I would love to have one in my yard or on my porch. They are not that easy to find small, because the rock cracks and falls apart when small.

A GREAT FIND!!!

Keep @ it and HH!!

 

[JakePhelps]

Thanks! Is there any pics of these on the internet that i could compare it to? I have a hunch its manmade because of a few small details on it....For one its in the center of the stone, next the inside has circular marks almost like a drill or something, also the hole may be to big for a drip but i could be wrong...And also on the back it has marks from something busting through it. It still could be a drip rock though! Wether natural or manmade i still think it looks cool on my deck

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

If you see drill marks and a punch through then its obviously not a drip hole. What makes the drip holes big is a splash. Well at least now you have a rock with a hole in it.

Keep @ it and HH!!

 

[bakergeol]

Ok I usually don't like to make rock/or mineral ID from photos but what the heck.

I assume you have eliminated it as being man made metal(If it was iron it would be rusty and have no porcelain streak and would attract a magnet).
The material was definitely been drilled- it is quite dense and the hole is circular and nature is not going to be responsible for the nearly circular hole.
It is possible that it is not a rock but a mineral.
It almost looks like specular hematite(iron ore)(Indians did use this stuff for their red paint). Take a piece and streak it
on the back of your toilet ( white Porcelain portion). If it streaks red it is hematite. If it streaks black and will attract a magnet it is probably magnetite.

George

 

[JakePhelps]

Doesnt do either So its not those. Ill get better photoes tomarow ok.

 

[miss_anthrope]

Was this anywhere near the cistern you found? is there a small well nearby?

Wondering if it was drilled as a pipe support or conduit, or "test hole" looking for water

any hills/cliffs nearby? it also seems somewhat similar to the sizes we'd drill when we were rock climbing for our anchors .. could have been.

far out explanation? - maybe before it was a rock, back when it was just sediment, someone stuck a stake or pole in it. And the hole stuck around when it hardened. not too unusual a thought in our new hampshire "dirt" (even i know the ground up here's either mud or concrete lol)

 

[Kentucky Kache]

This hole is not all the way through. Fire starter?

 

[JakePhelps]

It was found more than 300 feet away from the cistern. Nope, hole doesnt go all the way thru. I dont think it was from a pole that was stuck into mud because it has drill-like twirls in the hole. Maybe dynamite hole? I was reading, and in the construction of the cistern dynamite WAS involved and a cow chewed on some dynamite and blew up in the process Anyone know what the standard size is for dynamite holes? Back in the late 1800's early 1900's?

 

[DigEmAll]

Just so happens that I have a TNT drill from an old mine and it is about 1 1/2 inches on the drilling end. The newer drills for the composition charges are a little larger as the charges are poured into the holes. I think they are typically about three inches in diameter.

 

[JakePhelps]

Ill have to measure it tomarow but i think its closer to 1 and a half inches in diameter...

 

[DigEmAll]

Here's a picture of the drill that I have. It is about three feet long and was used with a pnumatic drill. Kinda like a jack hammer except it flowed water through the center of the bit and out the hole that you can see in the picture. The water kept the broken rock from clogging the hole, basically keeping it flushed out. This was probably the dirtiest job in the mine because all that broken, pulverized, powdered rock that was mixed with pressurized water flowed back on the drill operator.

As for the drip theory, if that rock was anywhere in the open as the picture suggests it would be an impossibility! Unless it was under an over hang in the bottom of a ditch with a complete barrier around it. and the water was dripping from about two inches above it.

Try this: go outside and stand in the middle of your yard, use your garden hose with just a drip, from a height of about five feet, try to get the drops to land in the same spot. If there is ANY wind, as is typical when it is raining, you cannot get the drips in the same spot. Now imagine that you are a tree limb blowing around......

 

[DigEmAll]

Jbot, I believe that you are correct in your quess that the one you have is a fire starter. I have one very similar that was examined by a professional. He said that is was the palm stone for a bow drill. A bow drill also served as a firestarter. The Native Americans would use the palm stone until it was drilled all the way through and then the palm stone became a shaft straightener for lances or arrows (depending on the hole size). They never wasted anything!

 

[Kentucky Kache]

Thanks DigEmAll.

 

[JakePhelps]

Its a little bit over an inch and a half, could it still be a dynamite hole?? Its only like one tick mark over

 

[Belch409]

Hmm.. iam not quite sure what it could be.. looks very cool though..

 

[DigEmAll]

Jake, it could be a TNT hole, but there are hundreds of reasons to drill a hole in rock. Could also be an anchor hole for who knows what or many other things. Look the area that you found it over. Are there and rock quaries around? Any roads close by? If that is what is left from a TNT shot, there are going to be more busted rock around.

 

[JakePhelps]

The area is full of loose rocks. Its just this one that has a hole in it...if it was an area for blasting wouldnt there be some more marks in different rocks? The area is in back of osme houses which are on the road. I don't think that this rock is from construction of the road, too far away. Maybe to hold a pole for a clothsline or a picnic table umbrella or something else?

 

[DigEmAll]

If it was a quarry project to remove rock, as in a road through a hill, you will find evidence of such around. There will be an existing rock with drill marks on the face. You have probably seen these where the roadway cuts through a hill. I'll draw ya a picture to help you understand. I doubt that that was a hole for an explosive shot because typically the holes are drilled in a line and that causes a weak spot and a fracture line where the rock can split off. Holes are usually split from top to bottom. Blasting a tunnel is done by drilling concentric circles of holes and using the timing of the shot within milliseconds to totally pulverize to rock. The rock is blown down the tunnel and not outward toward the walls. Anyway... I'll spare you the history lesson. The rock you have does look to have a man-made hole in it, take a look at the surroundings and use the totality of the evidence to draw your conclusion. Men make hole and such in the strangest places and for some of the weirdest reasons. TNT breaks rock into smaller rocks, it doesn't usually leave you with holes. Good luck Jake!