Petrified Wood

These extraordinary pieces of petrified wood are estimated to be up to 1.81 million years to 23.03 million years old (Pliocene to Miocene epochs). Sourced and worked in Indonesia, they are both functional and decorative. Locally they are believed to protect the home form evil spirits. The logs seen below come in a variety of sizes, from 500 KG to a more manageable 30KG, and there are also wide ranges of colours. Most pieces show the age rings clearly, as well as the bark.

The Petrification process involves the wood being covered by volcanic ash, mud flows, sediments in lakes and swamps or material washed in by violent floods - by any means which would exclude oxygen and thus prevent decay. A number of mineral substances (such as calcite, pyrite, marcasite) can cause petrification, but by far the most common is silica. Solutions of silica dissolved in ground water infiltrate the buried wood and through a complex chemical process are precipitated and left in the individual plant cells. Here the silica may take a variety of forms; it may be agate, jasper, chalcedony or opal. The beautiful and varied colours of petrified wood are caused by the presence of other minerals that enter the wood in solution with the silica.