Way more than a simple decor piece!
Ammonites are anywhere from 75 to 450 million years old. Their closest living relatives are: octopus, squid, cutterfish and the chambered Nautilus. Ammonites got their name from the spiral shape . . . resembling tightly coiled rams’ horns. Pliny the Elder, a Roman author and philosopher (around 70 AD0, named these fossils “ammonis cornua” after the Egyptian god Amman . . . depicted wearing ram’s horns. Need to know information.
This type of ammonite is most likely Cleoniceras….with a smooth shell and angled segments.
The Madagascar families who mine these fossils are hard working. The men do the digging and rough surface mining. It is hot, sweaty and back-breaking work. The entire family meet at a warehouse where they cut – with a diamond saw – the ammonite down the middle . . . then highly polish both the inside and outside. The process takes up to 6 hours per fossil.
Look at the colors and crystal cavities in each of the segments.
A quality wood stands are included.
This Item has SOLD. Thanks M.S. !