Measuring Tool?

footlongshlong

Hello there,

Long time lurker, but I seem to have found something of interest (to me anyway!). It was found in what seems to be a collapsed (small) sea cave on a south coast beach, it appears to be a measuring tool but other than that I don't have a clue. Any advice/observation welcome!

slowburner

When you say collapsed sea cave; could it have been an old mine?

footlongshlong

Hello slowburner, thanks for your interest. I dont have time to do it now but i will check the archaeology mapviewer later, but I don't think it was, as the cliff is made of extremely erosion-susceptible sandstone. The cave was located on a wave-cut platform but high tide does cover the area. I was just rummaging through the loose stones looking for some nice shells when I came across it.

bogwalrus

footlongshlong wrote: »

Hello there,

Long time lurker, but I seem to have found something of interest (to me anyway!). It was found in what seems to be a collapsed (small) sea cave on a south coast beach, it appears to be a measuring tool but other than that I don't have a clue. Any advice/observation welcome!

Fossilized crab or lobster claw?

footlongshlong

Hello there, I'm afraid it is not, it seems to be made of sandstone and somewhat man-made, the notches do not appear to be natural erosion or corrosion of bits of metal in the rock, and are very well aligned with the groove cut in it. Additionally the item has excellent ergonomics. I am extremely interested in finding out what it is, does anybody have further thoughts or suggestions? I can post more photos if desired, please let me know what kind of angles etc....

slowburner

A photo of the reverse might be useful.

My humble opinion is that I very much doubt it's man made. I suspect the chunk was taken out of the pebble by a natural impact.
There is definitely no evidence of retouching.

Beaches, as you well know, are harsh, sometimes violent environments.
Sandstone is not something that would be used as a tool - it's far too soft and brittle.

That said, it's difficult to explain the grooves.
All I can think of in terms of a natural explanation is that some form of organic matter, perhaps a bracken frond, was embedded in the sand as it metamorphosed into stone.
The organic matter would have rotted out leaving the grooves.

Fair play to you for keeping an eye out though, you never know when and where interesting things will turn up.;)