Embedded Fossils

Imprints From the Past

Can you imagine a few eons ago when the seabeds shivered?

Earth’s crust groaned and cracked uplifting ancient sediments covering all

embedding living crustaceans in layers of mud and sand.

Hot molten lava sealed their fate forever in layers of stone.

Then, folding ripples of sandstone built the Appalachian Mountains.

Until…

One summer thirty years ago, I searched and found a chunk of rock.

Solid sandstone lay buried there on a western Virginia mountainside.

A new road cut into the ridge and rocks were pushed aside.

I found a chunk weathered and worn, but with faint imprints outside.

Excited, I cracked it open with my hammer to see what was locked inside.

As pieces fell apart from the whole, stunning treasures could no longer hide.

Creatures from a million years ago were perfectly preserved inside.

When I taught elementary school back in the 90s, I collected rock wherever I traveled to use in my classroom when we studied rocks and minerals. This was a wonderful find for me. It came from a camp that my boys were attending. I knew there were some fossils in the stream that ran through the camp, but when I found this rock halfway up the ridge, I was very excited. Cracking open the rocks revealed the unweathered fossils were just as they were when they were first formed. I thought I had lost these when we moved, but I found them today when I was cleaning up my garage.

Fossil Photos from Highland Retreat Camp: Dwight L. Roth