Mystery Objects.
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I took the above two photos of mystery objects in Boxford yesterday. They are at the corner of a big old inn and a lane off the main street of the village. There are a good many of these objects around Suffolk. Try and guess what they are made of and the purpose they now serve. When I first saw them yesterday a young mother and her son were sitting on them in the sunshine, and I wondered whether to tell the mother what they were sitting on - but I lacked the courage.
2 comments:
Hi Mike,
The lefterly of the two notable objects appears to be the very weathered stone head of an ecclesiastical statue (C.13th/14th?) whilst the rightmost piece appears to be a modern art sculpture of a male torso. I am almost completely certain I am in error on this second item as it is so very far away from your usual range of objets de vertu.
Hello Crowbard. The objects are (I think ) ALL of coprolite, which is a stone rich in phosphates, and therefore a very good fertiliser, when ground up and spread in the earth. It is found in Suffolk, and from the mid 19th century onward, much used as a fertiliser. Many farmers also used the larger stones, as here, at gateways, and to protect buildings from cart and wagon wheels. They were also, for a while, a major import. They are, in fact, dinosaur droppings, and were known as 'dungstone'. I think, in parts of East Anglia, they may have been known by even coarser names!
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