Help identifying Part 2!

[BigDadddy]

The plot thickens... I was thinking coprolite in the post below. I went back this morning and dug 15 more. I dont have a clue what this is and need your help.

 

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[BigDadddy]

 

[Indian Steve]

No idea on ID but they sure are cool!

 

[fuss]

Can you do some basic tests like streak and hardness? also describe the weight compared to its size?

 

[BigDadddy]

It has a hardness of 2-3 and streaks brown. I wrapped a small one in a rag and hit it twice with a hammer, the fracture line is smooth but porous (see pic below). The one on the scale (178.8 grams or 6.31 oz) is roughly half the size of a baseball. It fits Jet Stone but the shapes are nothing like I've seen with Jet stone before.

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

I would think coprolite also.

 

[Clay Diggins]

It's dessicated tar. Probably from a roofing operation or railroad. If you have petroleum seeps in the area it could come from there also.

Coprolites are rocks with hardness generally around that of quartz. They aren't actual "poo" but are the fossilized remains of intestine contents.

 

[BigDadddy]

Clay, thanks. You put me on the right path. There are have have not been any buildings on this land in recorded history but there is a pipeline that is buried 10 ft.. I took them to a geologist at a local college and he determined that they "could" be tar balls. Tar balls are rare but found in this area of Mississippi due to it being on the edge of a cretaceous period ocean. And that the digging of the pipeline likely unearthed them. Anyways I'll add to the collection as a neat find for now. Maybe in the future have one professionally dated. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Bejay]

I accidently found this thread and interestingly enough I had found a huge area out in the middle of a very remote Az desert that had such hardened tar nodules laying all over a vast area. They were all sizes....golf ball to pea. I just mentioned it to a Montana guy who came and bought every piece of mining equipment I had. His significant other is a geologist and after they talked she is wanting to apply for a grant to study "what they are and where they came from. I will have to call and talk to Clay about it. There are, and have not been any buildings in the remote area;..... but there appears to be a pipeline of some kind and pump stations maybe every mile or so.

I had thought they may have been a result of a volcanic eruption passing through a tar bed. I tried to research it after discovering the location...but nothing was ever written. So Clay I will give you a call.

Bejay