Is it an ‘alien egg’ or ‘dragon stone’? Object found in Arkansas field sparks debate
A large, scaly object resembling a giant egg was found in an Arkansas field, leading to an ongoing social media debate over what it might be — and if it was once alive.
Photos of the find were posted Monday by the Arkansas History Unearthed Facebook group (with more than 18,000 members), showing it was oval shaped, more than 2-feet long and seemingly reptilian in origin.
Group member Drew Baledge of Fayetteville, Arkansas, reported the object had been found by someone in a field and he asked: “What, if anything could this possibly be?”
Hundreds have responded in the past day, including many who called the object “creepy” and “scary.” Among their ideas: fossilized dinosaur waste, a prehistoric egg, a petrified turtle shell, and a giant mushroom.
A few wanted to know if it had a heart beat and if it was soft enough to cut open. Several warned the finder not to bring it indoors.
“Be careful. It could hatch,” Brian Armer posted on Facebook.
“Looks like something from another world!” Marcus Hays wrote.
“Alien egg!!” Steve Morgan posted.
Several people suggested it is a prized geological formation known as a siderite septarian nodule, which is actually correct, according to James Starnes, director of surface geology for the Mississippi Office of Geology.
Septarian nodules are often referred to as a “dragon stone, because the natural patterns make people think of dragon skin,” according to Fossilera.com. The site sells examples of the stone for up to $395.
The photos indicate the specimen is big, which would make it “highly prized” by collectors, Starnes said. “It’s a crazy looking specimen. Really unique and special,” he told McClatchy News.
It could also be ancient. The nodules typically form in muddy sediment, when soils dry out over years and develop “desiccation cracks,” Starnes said. Those cracks later fill in with secondary minerals like calcite, he said.
The age of the nodule would depend on where it was found, Starnes said. The Facebook post did not give an exact location or weight of the stone.
Fayetteville is in the northwestern part of Arkansas, where septarian nodules are known to be found and occasionally ”mistaken for fossilized turtle shells,” the Arkansas Geological Survey reports.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Is it an ‘alien egg’ or ‘dragon stone’? Object found in Arkansas field sparks debate."