Found a rock on the porch of my new home, flipped it over and saw this. Is that a fossil? I live in SW Pennsylvania and fossils are very common, but I’m not certain it is one. Looks almost like a chain link fence impression but it’s part of the rock
I neglected to mention that this thing is about 12 inches long and probably 10 to 15 lbs. I don't know the type of rock but if I had to wager a wildly uneducated guess I'd say sandstone.
You're in a coal mining area. It used to be pretty common for miners to find these and lots of other fossils and bring them home. They would end up being used as door stops, paperweights, porch decorations and garden 'art'. My grandfather's house was loaded with them.
jimoconnell on May 29th, 2018 at 19:59 UTC »
Yup, that's a fossil. Tree trunk impression. http://isgs.illinois.edu/content/lycopsids
livefast_dieawesome on May 29th, 2018 at 20:00 UTC »
I neglected to mention that this thing is about 12 inches long and probably 10 to 15 lbs. I don't know the type of rock but if I had to wager a wildly uneducated guess I'd say sandstone.
Ken_Thomas on May 29th, 2018 at 21:01 UTC »
You're in a coal mining area. It used to be pretty common for miners to find these and lots of other fossils and bring them home. They would end up being used as door stops, paperweights, porch decorations and garden 'art'. My grandfather's house was loaded with them.