Twenty-Five Slope Point Stones Polished for Oliver, July 2022: Part 2, Stones 9 to 15 (Petrified Wood)

In Part 1, I introduced eight stones that I had tumble-polished for my fossicking buddy, Oliver Simpson, who lives near Slope Point in Southland. One of those was petrified wood, and this Post features seven more polished stones of this type. The most common colour for petrified wood in the area is black, but lighter varieties are also present. I will present the lighter stones first.

Stone 9 is the largest of all the 25 stones. It is right at the upper boundary of what I feel I can tumble polish. I also did not want to reduce its size too much – reduction results in a smoother outcome – as Oliver was mainly interested in just clarifying the grain and veins. There is some brecciation apparent in the central vein.

Stone 10 has a light grey hue and a mottled bottom. It is also a decent size (for a tumble-polisher).

Stones 11 and 12 are much smaller. Stone 11 has one face that displays its grain very nicely.

Stones 13 and 14 are darker in colour. Stone 13 was difficult to get a clear clear photo of because of its high polish. By contrast, Stone 14 did not take a good polish, maybe because the material is a little softer.

Finally, Stone 15 is very black. It is probably fossilised tree fern, given the shapes that can be discerned in it.

Part 3 in this Series features the remaining ten stones, which include a number of orbicular and brecciated ones.