A curious stone .... any ideas?

[lenmac65]

This is a rock my father-in-law found while shellfishing in about 10 feet of water off the coast of Rhode Island. He kept the rock due to the curious looking hole, the squared edge, and the marks on its face that makes it look like it has been worked a bit. The stone is about 1/2 inch think and solid feeling (most stones are, I suppose). The hole is somewhat conical and has what looks like a worn groove on the edge. I was thinking this might be a Native American fishing net weight, but was hoping to get some other opinions. What do you think? Any insights would be most appreciated. Thanks.

 

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[Tony in SC]

Does look like a net or trot line weight. Tony

 

[traderoftreasures]

maybe when it lays on a map the holes mark the treasure

 

[72cheyenne]

First off, WELCOME TO TNET, lenmac65

As for the stone...it does look as if it had ropes tied around it in a couple of spots (see arrows). You might try posting over in the indian artifacts forum and see what those guys and gals think.

 

[Cappy Z.]

Sure looks like a net weight.....artifact..

 

[johnnyi]

There seems to be a bit of iron deposit around one of the holes. It might mean nothing, but depending on the thickness, it might be that this is a fragment of a stone roof shingle once nailed to wood. Another thing; if you turn it over, are the holes on the reverse countersunk also/ If they are, it would be more likely this was crudely drilled with a stone tool and may be an indian artifact. If the hoole sare flush however, I would think you could probably rule that possibility out.

 

[lenmac65]

First off, WELCOME TO TNET, lenmac65

As for the stone...it does look as if it had ropes tied around it in a couple of spots (see arrows). You might try posting over in the indian artifacts forum and see what those guys and gals think.

I was thinking the groove near the intact hole might have been from a cord or rope. I hadn't really thought about the other area you pointed out. As for the Indian artifacts forum, I was not aware of that section as I am a new user. That is a great idea and I will do as you suggest. Thanks for the insights.

 

[lenmac65]

There seems to be a bit of iron deposit around one of the holes. It might mean nothing, but depending on the thickness, it might be that this is a fragment of a stone roof shingle once nailed to wood. Another thing; if you turn it over, are the holes on the reverse countersunk also/ If they are, it would be more likely this was crudely drilled with a stone tool and may be an indian artifact. If the hoole sare flush however, I would think you could probably rule that possibility out.

I hadn't thought about the discoloration or that it might be related to the stone having been in contact with a nail or some other metal object. Good point and an interesting theory. I don't believe the other side of the hole was countersunk, but I will ask my father-in-law. Thanks for the suggestion and your ideas.

 

[bassasasin]

Just way out here .. but
A spiritual fire starter stone.. they spun a rod in the holes. The decorations is a spiritual part and tied it to themselves to keep it's spirit and retrieve it from the fire.

 

[traderoftreasures]

 

[Buck Bagaw]

My money is on Tony on this item. A rock with holes in it, and found where there are fish, net weight seems to be the logical conclusion. As for the "fire starter stone", it just wouldn't work. The drill and base both have to be of wood to create an ember.

 

[randazzo1]

Looks like a piece of stone shingle from a very old house. I pulled one off of Shakespeare's alleged home "Stratford Upon Avon" on a class trip to England when I was 12. (not proud of that fyi) but it broke and looked just like that. Think those are nail holes.

 

[bangorguy]

this is a very interesting stone. notice how the the hole was made it has been bored by hand. maybe to start a fire with it looks like the notch is where it caught the hot ambers when used with a bow drill this is one of the oldest ways to start a fire.

 

[Daddio53]

I have hundreds of these. I call them "holey rocks". I picked them all up on the shores of Lake Michigan. They have nothing to do with fishing nets or anything like that. They are simply pieces of worn rocks and the holes are where the material was weaker than the rest of the rock. Most of them are sedimentary layers that were likely muddy bottoms of lakebed or riverbed. The holes may even be worm holes. I make necklaces with the smaller thin ones and incense holders with the larger thicker ones. People buy them simply because they are different. Unfortunately they are not as dramatic as old sea faring tools.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Ahhhh, Agreed Daddio

 

[Buck Bagaw]

bangorguy, nice picture of a bow drill with fire board. Board is the operative word here, it has to be wood to create the friction required to produce an ember. While it is true fire can be created using stone, as in flint and steel or pyrite and steel, stone just won't make fire in conjunction with a bow drill. The only place for stone in the equation is for a partially drilled stone to be used to hold pressure on the top of the spinning shaft.

 

[allen]

daddio may have the answer !!

 

[johnnyi]

daddio's right that it is sedimentary, probably a limestone, but the holes were drilled, not naturally formed. If we ever get a scan of the back it will be evident, as undoubdedly there will be no countersink. The iron deposit on the holes, as well as the countersink can't be ignored, and neither of these are the natural phenomenon we often see when holes appear in soft shale or limestone. It is a shingle, a nice shingle, but a shingle none the less.

 

[lenmac65]

Thank you everyone for the ideas and comments. I am still not sure what it is, but I remain convinced it is a stone that has been worked by someone. To me the hole looks drilled, but for what purpose I do not know. (It is indeed countersunk only on one side.) The rock seems like too solid of a variety to develop a hole on its own due to a weak spot (though admittedly I am no geologist). Also, the face of the rock has what looks like scoring on it, though the picture does not show it well. Finally, my father-in-law has raked the bottom of this Rhode Island bay for nearly 30 years and has only found one other rock similar to this one. If this was a naturally occurring phenomenon like that observed in Lake Michigan, I think he would have found many more of these. But given my limited knowledge of geology, I wouldn't necessarily rule out the possibility that it was naturally formed.

Again, thank you all for your insights. I have found all the posts very interesting.