The rock was found on the beach at La Pulente about 7 years ago by Mr Tony Collins, who has recently kindly donated the specimen to the Geology Section of the Societe Jersiaise.
The stone was identified (soon after it was found) by Dr John Renouf as being of Devonian age, (some 420 to 359 million years ago). The stone consists of a thinly bedded, fine grained, sandstone. The Devonian strata are significantly younger than any of the strata found in Jersey and the nearest known outcrop is located on the seabed to the north of the Ecrehous. It is probable that the rock was moved southward over several tens of thousands of years as sea levels rose after each Ice Age and by strong sea currents, to be washed ashore at La Pulente..
The fossils preserved in the rock were identified by Dr Renouf as being Brachiopods, of the Order Spirifera. The original shells have been completely dissolved away to leave an impression of the exterior of the original shell in the rock
There are no fossils preserved in any of the rock strata found in Jersey and it is rare to find fossils in any of the ‘alien’ rocks that are washed up on our beaches.
