It's a rock, about three inches across. It doesn't appear to be artificial, or a fossil, but it's very strange looking. It appears to be sedimentary, with a clay-like feel, though it's slightly heavier than expected.

Is there a name for something like this besides "funny rock"?

Hmm... interesting, has the "feel" of a vertebrae about it, with the processes each side, but impossible to know for sure. What makes you think it is sedimentary? is it the striations running across the surface? If so, and the whole rock is layered through then it couldnt be a fossil. (IMO)

It almost looks like it could be three pieces fused together....? (maybe?)

And a piece has been snapped off the right hand side?

I'm also thinking it might not be old....some sort of modernish brick that
has been in water?

Just pondering.....

Do you know where it was found?

It was found in Cincinnati, Ohio, on a construction site. I believe it's sedimentary because it seems to be tiny grains squeezed together, almost chalk-like. If something hard is rubbed or bumped against it, it actually gives a slight clinking sound. There are no obvious fusion points, although there is some other material included in the furrow to the left. In the photo is appears that something broke off it on the right side, although this isn't apparent in person.


When you pick it up, besides being slightly heavier than you would expect, it feels like dried clay or mud, but it doesn't seem to be, which became apparent as soon as I found it. I broke open a dirt clod, by sheer accident, and there it was. I showed my prize to another guy (I never learn) and he immediately tried to break it in half, which seems to be the prefered method of determining what something is made of It survived the attack and atcually seems to be pretty resilient.

Thanks for that....I'm intrigued...I've got some interesting rocks and fossils myself.

I've just had another thought....it couldn't be fossilised coral, could it?

Not any kind I'm familiar with, but it could be some strange kind like we don't have anymore, highly weathered and almost unrecognizable.

It looks very much like ancient clay pottery found in New Mexico.
I have several shards that have that same layered look.

I think the clinking sound you refer to sounds like pottery.

Hope this helps.

I had considered that, but it doesn't appear to be part of anything functional, nor does it appear to be an effigy. It's just this funny shape. I guess it could have just been somebody being creative, and then the years weathered it and left it vague enough not to be sure.

I can't be sure either way, and I handled it.

I'd have said a bit of old animal bone at first glance - though there is only so much to can glean from a picture.

The top of a ball and socket type joint?

No idea about all the lines on it though.

The bit of the right hand side looks broken off....

old bone that been buried in clay for a while?

no idea.

It is difficult to determine if it was something functional from the fragment. I would like to see the reverse side.

The method of constructing pottery then was with layers of clay, one on top of the other. That is what it looks like to me.

It doesn't look like it would have been a clay vessel but it really does look like something constructed from clay.

Perhaps you can find an archeologist in your area that can help identify its origen.

dalia

The reverse side is quite a bit plainer than the one in the picture. I'm pretty sure I have a photo of that side, but it's not on this computer.

I realize you can only tell so much from a photo, but I thought maybe this kind of thing is commonplace to someone in the field, and maybe someone would know right off what it was. It's been a nice discussion anyway.

The object is no longer in my possession, so I'm afraid I can't show it to anyone locally.

Thanks for all the responses!

Hard to say without a good look, it has a very vague resemblance to part of a tooth battery, but the more I look at it the less I tend to think that way.

In the middle of the picture just above the horseshoe shaped opening, there are several small objects embedded in it. Can you describe them with any detail? They look like little "beads".

They may tell us if this is a marine sample.

The ridges remind me of a mammoth or mastodon tooth. The shape isn’t right, if it was a complete tooth it would be more oval in shape. It could be a broken off piece. It could also some sort of ungulate tooth.

my initial thoughts are that it resembles a fragment from some kind of clay figurine. It could be tested to work out whether or not it's been fired, but i'm assuming you probably don't have access to test its thermoluminescence. the striations don't look geological anyway, so they're probably man-made, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily old, or, on the other side that it's necessarily modern.

where exactly did you find it? what kind of context (as in, was it above ground, or from an area where there's been any ground disturbance?). It'd be worth doing a little fieldwalking around the area to see if anything else crops up, or if you know the exact location then even having someone dig a little test pit.

there's a site here that might arouse your interest http://www.daysknob.com/ , but whether it's really of similarity, who knows...to be honest i've not had time to read through it yet. I might have a scout about and see if i can spot anything in our journal library. something might crop up!

Yeah I got a strange looking rock myself. It's about as big as two fists, has hundreds of almost straight lines carved into it in random direction and has what looks like teeth or quarts embedded into it.

It reminds me of a blotch of clay that may have been deposit on the ground then became disfigured from its original flatness as the ground dried. The grooves being linear could be some form or grating thing that was dragged across the top soil, you know like maybe for example they were leveling the ground. Then still soft it could have been mixed up by the rest of the top soil. Part of what makes me think this is the way the grooves on the head part are directly linear through the rest of the object.

if they were levelling the ground they wouldn't use anything which would create such fine groove impressions, the machinery would be far larger, considering that this object is only 3 inches across.

oh it was hard to visually perceive the size in the photo.Thank you for the clarification. I was thinking of gardening implements.as i have seen clay similar. It could have alter from the original impression as it dried.

I have a hunch that what we are looking at is actually a marine fossil of some sort.

Look closely and you can just make out what appear to be crinoid segments embedded in the surface.

It really would help to know what sediments the object came out of though, otherwise it's pure speculation on my part.


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Thoughts ?

Wow, I didn't know people were still discussing this. I no longer have the mystery object, so I can't post post other pics or really give any more info than I have. Also, I was only at the site where this was found for a little while, and I live hundred of miles from there. I did walk around and look for other similar objects, but I found nothing of interest.

About the bits embedded in it, I can't take a closer look now because I no longer have it, but nothing ever stood out as being from a crinoid. I have other crinoid fossils and certainly would have recognized them, but I don't remember any crinoid segments in it.

I can accept it remaining a mystery. Thanks so much for the discussion and ideas.

Ah well it was fun while it lasted, I really would have liked to find out what it was though.