In “The Trace Fossils of Gemstone Beach” (second edition), there are two pages of photos of stones that I have collected from Ward Beach in Southern Marlborough. The second page, page 25, features these 11 stones:
A number of these stones featured in the Series “Selection of Tumbled Ward Beach Stones” and I don’t have a record of when they were found.
#1 – I picked up this stone during my second visit to Ward Beach, in March 2021. This photo, however, is of the polished stone, taken in August 2024 for this Post about tumbled “hard” Ward Beach stones. I think it is likely to be a form of chalcedony, but am unsure.
#2 – This stone was found in October 2024 and is one of my favourites. A very black stone, maybe flint, it has intriguing veins of white chalcedony through it (see close-up below, left). I had found similar ones in March 2022 and May 2023.
#3 – This is another trace fossil limestone pebble, the same type of stone as Stone #4 on page 24. Found in June 2026, it contains the largest trace fossil I have seen from there.
#4 – A pinkish limestone stone with a vivid white vein, this stone is, like Stone #1 above, found sometime prior to August 2024, photographed for this Post of tumbled veined Ward Beach finds.
#5 – Another of the stones photographed originally for the Series of tumbled Ward Beach finds, the Post on varieties of limestone.
#6 – Probably an igneous stone. Another one that featured in the Series of tumbled Ward Beach finds, the Post on “hard” stones. I have found other igneous stones with greater amounts of black crystals in them.
#7 – Another limestone variation and, like Stone #5, features as a tumbled stone in this Post.
#8 – A dark-veined limestone, featured in this Post.
#9 – This coloured and veined stone is likely to consist mainly of limestone. I found it in July 2025 but it doesn’t feature in the Post for that fossick.
#10 – This is a brecciated limestone, found in April 2025. The original limestone has probably been subject to tectonic forces that have fragmented it and then hot water has flowed in between them, leaving behind minerals that held the pieces in place.
#11 – This stone has many similarities to Stone #10 on Page 24. It is heavily veined (brecciated), with the light coloured material likely to be limestone and the brown material being flint (see close-up after Stone #2 above). It features in this Post of tumbled stones.
2 thoughts on “Second Edition of “The Trace Fossil Stones of Gemstone Beach” – Page 25, “More Stones Collected from Ward Beach, Southern Marlborough””