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The Living Stones Of Romania? (Costesti; Romania; Trovants)

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Trovantii – the strangest ‘living stones’ in Romania
Posted by: Ramona Ciortescu in TRAVEL April 5, 2015Comments Offon Trovantii – the strangest ‘living stones’ in Romania


Trovantii are sandstone formations with a texture more solid than the layer they grow in. They tend to grow spontaneous, from the center to the periphery, the deposition rate can reach 4-5 cm in 1200 years.

More than 10 to 15 million years ago, a large part of Oltenia region was covered by the Getic Lake. The sand and gravel were taken by the waters and deposited to one side of the lake, in the area where the natural reservation is today.

Experts who have studied the phenomenon explain that such geological formations are usually formed in a riverbed and can also be found, but on a smaller scale, in other places in Valcea County than in Costesti village.

Trovants from Costesti became a study subject immediately after the Revolution, but turned into a tourist attraction only in 2005, after the area was declared a natural reservation. Popularly known as ‘dorobanti’, ‘balatruci’, ‘living stones’ or ‘stones that grow after the rain’ trovantii’ have bizarre shapes, spherical or ellipsoidal, and different sizes, from a few centimeters to a few meters. Costesti is the only place in Europe where you can find a natural reservation with geological formations which are the result of cementing produced millions of years ago.

Locals believe the geological formations are ‘living stones’ with an unusual power which protects those who comfort and water them. People living in the area have already purchased ‘talismans’, smaller stones that can be admired in their yards or gardens.

‘These geological formations grow only when they form and can be the size of a fist or can reach the size of those in Costesti. Trovants from Costesti exposed probably after an earthquake or a sliding. They actually roll over that sandy wall on the wayside’, researcher Gheorghe Ploaie told Adevarul.

http://www.romaniajournal.ro/trovantii-the-strangest-living-stones-in-romania/

Warning for robotic voice in video:

 
This December 2020 Science Alert article provides more information about the trovantii of Romania ...
These Eerie 'Living Stones' in Romania Are Fantastical, And Totally Real

A small town in Romania called Costesti is home to unusual geological manifestations - bulging bulbous boulders called trovants. These stones have long intrigued locals, with their organic-looking shapes and strange cement oozings, inspiring myths about the stones' ability to grow and move - like living beings rather than inanimate objects.

Trovants vary greatly in size and shape - some can snugly fit in your palm, while others loom overhead, up to 4.5 metres tall. Of the 100s of known trovants, seen across at least 20 sites through Romania, some were only unearthed after the sand around them was quarried away. ...

While mysteriously moving stones do sail across valleys elsewhere in the world, these trovants probably aren't going anywhere without help any time soon.

In fact, some are firmly (if precariously) fixed to the ground below with a solid rock base ...

Their bizarre, and sometimes seemingly gravity-defying bulges have to do with their origins. ...

Likely shaped by earthquakes around 6 million years ago, trovants are a type of concretion - sedimentary sand grains or rocks bound together by a limestone (calcium carbonate) cement.

"Some are made from sandstone, others from gravel," Buila-Vanturarita National Park manager Florin Stoican told Radio Romania International back in 2010. "In geological terminology, they are made from gritstone and conglomerates."

Researchers have found no difference between the trovants and surrounding sand substrate. So they suspect the spheroid shapes were formed by the unusually long-lasting and intense seismic activity of the Middle Miocene. Shockwaves emanating from the earth compacted the sandy sediments and concentrated the limestone cement to mould their spherical lumps. ...

FULL STORY (With Photos): https://www.sciencealert.com/these-strange-bulging-geological-manifestations-loom-over-romania
 
Additional info ...
The Trovants’ Natural Museum in Costesti 18/12/2010

In the northern area of Valcea county, at the foot of the Capatanii Mountains lies the smallest natural park in Romania, Buila-Vanturarita National Park. Besides the spectacular mountain trails in the area, this region is also appealing for its surroundings.

For instance, the Trovants’ Museum Nature Reserve is located 5 km from the Park. Upon entering the reservation, you get the feeling you’re in a huge garden, surrounded by petrified dwarfs. Then you realize that nature’s relentless force in creating and carving stone forms surpasses all human imagination. Trovants or concretions, also known locally as “growing stones”, are sandstone concretions that vary extensively in shape and size. ...

There are over 20 sites in Romania where trovants still exist. One such place is in Sibiu county, another is Feleacului Hill near Cluj-Napoca, while another is in Buzau county. There’s a trovant site in Valcea county, near Otesani village. ...

FULL STORY: http://old.rri.ro/arh-art.shtml?lang=1&sec=170&art=86442
 
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