Drift Wood

Fragments of wood are quite common in the Grey Chalk, less so in the White Chalk, and though these are typically small appreciable logs can be found on rare occasion. Preservation style varies between mouldic and petrified, the best preservation occuring within flints. Specimens often displays borings of the worm-like bivalve Teredo, made once the wood had floated out to sea.

1). A strongly petrified chunk of wood enclosed within flint; the grain is quite clear (x0.8, flint (White Chalk), from drift material, Nickleham, Surrey, Willett Collection, Booth Museum, BMB 008196, by kind permission of John Cooper).

2). Broken surface of the above specimen, displaying the petrified internal grain of the wood and flint-filled borings of the worm-like bivalve Teredo (x0.8, flint (White Chalk), from drift material, Nickleham, Surrey, Willett Collection, Booth Museum, BMB 008196, by kind permission of John Cooper).

3). Details of specimens with Teredo borings; (A) Petrified wood exposing flint-filled borings on a broken surface (x2.3, flint (White Chalk), from drift material, Nickleham, Surrey, Willett Collection, Booth Museum, BMB 008196, by kind permission of John Cooper); (B) Compacted mouldic preservation of heavily bored wood, the grain of the wood cuts across the borings (x4.2, Grey Chalk, Glynde, East Sussex, Randell Collection, RR 1061).

4). Mouldic preservation of heavily Teredo-bored wood; (A) x2.2, Grey Chalk, Glynde, East Sussex, Randell Collection, RR 1061; (B) x2.9, 'Brighton', Willett Collection, Booth Museum, BMB 008203, by kind permission of John Cooper.

5). Mouldic preservation of a large piece of wood with Teredo borings (Sussex (?), Worthing Museum, Martin Collection, by kind permission of Worthing Borough Council); (A) General view (x0.7); (B) Detail of the Teredo borings (x2.6).

6). A petrified piece of wood enclosed within flint; the pale nature of this specimen presumably stems from prolonged exposure as drift (x1.2, flint (White Chalk), Willett Collection, Booth Museum, BMB 008198, by kind permission of John Cooper).