Meteorite in tree?

[Upinflames]

Hi all,
I cut an oak tree down on our farm 18 months ago. It was odd as the trunk was black inside (see photos).
When I started to chop it into logs my chainsaw hit something metallic, it felt like it had hit a nail. On further investigation I found a black object embedded in the tree. A rough count of the rings shows it has been in there around 200 years. But what is it? If I swing a magnet on a piece of cotton it attracts it, and the black in the tree trunk attests to iron. On the end where the chainsaw hit it glitters different colours.

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Nightmare said:

Awesome! Certainly has the right characteristics to be a meteorite from those pics and description. Will ask my wife later as this is her area of expertise

Thanks, I'd be interested to hear her opinion

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ATG said:

Whereabouts in the tree was it? In a limb or the main stem? How high off the ground when the tree came down?

5 feet off the ground near the middle of the main trunk

Edited by Upinflames on Monday 9th May 12:48

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Eric Mc said:

Ask somebody from the Science Museum to have a look.

I've emailed a couple of times but had no reply

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bigandclever said:

I really want it to be one, though you might like to have a wander around here .. https://sites.wustl.edu/meteoritesite/

And they have a nice flowchart, what do you get to?

https://sites.wustl.edu/meteoritesite/items/self-t...

It checks out on there, hadn't seen that before, thanks

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Eric Mc said:

Have you tried phoning?
Have you sent a picture?

Phone call got me the email address.

Email with photos attached just got me an automated reply thanking me for my enquiry

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oakdale said:

It's just an example of edaphoecotropism, could be anything really. It looks quite a small lump, what size is it?

It's as big as a Maris Piper

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normalbloke said:

A big one or a small one?

The rock at its longest measurement is about 60mm

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Doofus said:

Ash_ said:

Could it be a small Cannonball? (I do actually hope it is a meteorite though).

I wondered if it was a cannonball.

And now I've ruined the apposite bookending of this thread with the OP's username and yours.

I wondered about it being a cannonball too. There was a bit of activity around here in the civil war but that was 200 years or so before the tree existed. I don't think there was anything cannon related in mid Cheshire in the early 1800s

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Bill said:

Are there any iron age settlements near by? We found a meteor-wrong (as the local expert declared it, ho ho! )and while I can't remember the details it was decided it was likely iron age slag.

Which is still pretty cool.

ETA trying to remember who it was. I think it was a teacher in the local school that's a science academy and does a geology GCSE. IIRC we got talking at an open evening. I'd have thought it's also worth asking a local uni.

Edited by Bill on Wednesday 11th May 08:13

Yes there is, big iron age fort about 4 miles as the crow flies and some earthworks very close by.

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Nightmare said:

Lol sorry totally forgot about this.

Her view is it certainly could be a meteorite from the pic but could also be a random something else….def metal content tho! If you like I can PM you the details of her expert….but he will def need to actually see it in person apparently.

I'd be happy for him to see it in person!