Is this an alien egg? A dragon stone? Strange object found in Arkansas field causes speculation

Published 9:36 pm Sunday, September 20, 2020

A big, strange-looking thing that resembles a large, scaly egg was discovered recently in an Arkansas field, sparking a social media free-for-all about what it might actually be.

Photographs of the object were posted last week on a Facebook group called “Arkansas History Unearthed.”

The large object is reported to have been more than 2-feet long and looks like some kind of turtle shell or another reptile.

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The original poster, identified as Drew Baledge of Fayetteville, Arkansas, said a friend of his found the thing in a field.

“What, if anything could this possibly be?” he asked online.

In the hundreds of comments in response to Baledge’s question are some interesting theories.

A petrified turtle?

Fossilized dinosaur poop?

A fossilized egg?

An alien egg ready to hatch?

Ultimately, several online commenters suggested it might an unusual geological formation called a septarian nodule, sometimes called a dragon stone because the texture reminds people of how they envision a dragon’s skin might look.

McClatchy News contacted James Starnes with the Mississippi Office of Geology who confirmed that the “egg” actually appeared to be a septarian nodule and a quite large one at that.

“It’s a crazy looking specimen. Really unique and special,” Starnes told McClatchy News.