My parents have always told me this is a petrified tree stump. They've had it for as long as I can remember. It has sat outside in the weather for more than for 25 years, that I know of. It is as heavy and hard as solid stone and despite its weathered look, it is not crumbly or flaky.
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- Photographed on May 13, 2018 by @soill
- Breese, Illinois
- Google Maps Location
Just a little additional information:
My dad said it was handed down to him and he's not really sure where it came from. He seemed to barely remember how he got it. Yet, he grew up here in Southern Illinois, near Du Bois, Illinois, and this area has a long history of coal mining. The Illinois State Geological Survey maps show the whole area is pretty well covered in underground coal mines, including Du Bois specifically. I wanted to keep some objective skepticism though, as nearby is also Giant City State Park, which is known for some pretty amazing concretion rock formations.
Oh that's an interesting piece!
If you want a good answer, you can try posting it in @mountainwashere's Nature Identification Thread
https://steemit.com/science/@mountainwashere/nature-identification-thread-15-now-paying-out-steem-basic-income-memberships-to-participants
It's a very useful tool to identify almost anything ;)
To the question in your title, my Magic 8-Ball says:
Hi! I'm a bot, and this answer was posted automatically. Check this post out for more information.
Seen your petrified stump @mountainwashere's post!
Really nice one! Lots of colours in it and the red bottom
reminds me Arizona rocks. Small world how many of
us had parents give us some stumps of stone! :-)
woah did they say how they got this? amazing