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2000 Year Old Oak

hoosier | Posted in General Discussion on March 23, 2006 04:05am

Long-time subscriber, short-timer lurker here,

Thought you all might find this story interesting.  May be more appropriate for Knots, but I like this crowd better ; )

The full story is linked below. In short, an ancient log was found found in a gravel pit last summer in South Central Indiana that was first believed to be about 6,000 years old.  Carbon dating results were recently returned and the log was found to be “only” around 2,000 years old (300 yrs old when it fell). 

It’s certainly not as old as some of the logs being pulled out of bogs and other places around the world, but pretty amazing nonetheless considering the tree would have sprouted during biblical times.

Enjoy,

Chris

View Image

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060321/NEWS01/603210414&SearchID=73239274963323

 

 

 

Reply

Replies

  1. andybuildz | Mar 23, 2006 05:36am | #1

    Well I'm still amazed at the logs holding my house up. the house is
    326 years old and the logs/timbers are probably another hundred or two...And no Simpson ties...imagine that...wonder if they'd have passed inspection...LOL

    If Blodgett says, Tipi tipi tipi it must be so!

    TipiFest 06~~> Send me your email addy for a Paypal invoice to the greatest show on earth~~>[email protected]

    1. User avater
      Sailfish | Mar 23, 2006 05:36pm | #7

      And no Simpson ties...imagine that

      Do you guys get alot of hurricanes up in them parts? ;-0

       

       -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

       

      WWPD

      1. andybuildz | Mar 24, 2006 02:14am | #9

        Do you guys get alot of hurricanes up in them parts? ;-0 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>Nope, but we get to use Simpson ties anyway...next, we'll be using volcano clips just in caseIf Blodgett says, Tipi tipi tipi it must be so!

        TipiFest 06~~> Send me your email addy for a Paypal invoice to the greatest show on earth~~>[email protected]

  2. MisterT | Mar 23, 2006 02:00pm | #2

    I can see the Image of Jesus in the end grain!!!

     

    Mr. T. 

    There's a steering-wheel in me pants and it's driving me nuts!!!

     

    1. hoosier | Mar 23, 2006 02:29pm | #3

      I can see the Image of Jesus in the end grain!!!

      Great, there goes the lumber value - Buyers will never be able to compete with the casino in Vegas who'll want to display it next to the toasted cheese and Captain Kirk kidney stone.

    2. User avater
      draftguy | Mar 23, 2006 04:42pm | #4

      that's not Jesus

      it's CloudHidden

      1. User avater
        CloudHidden | Mar 23, 2006 04:46pm | #5

        I cannot imagine anyone confusing the two of us under even the most extreme circumstances!###I think they should peel the layers off one by one to see if "Joseph loves Mary" is carved anywhere.

        1. Lansdown | Mar 24, 2006 02:30am | #10

          You both live(d) in caves, no?

          1. shtrum | Mar 24, 2006 05:28am | #11

            Dome of the Rock

          2. Lansdown | Mar 24, 2006 05:29am | #12

            Cloud(not)hidden?

          3. shtrum | Mar 24, 2006 05:33am | #13

            he certainly seems to be resisting temptation . . .

            or maybe he just has a life

            (haha . . . i make me laugh)

          4. Lansdown | Mar 24, 2006 05:36am | #14

            Are you coming east this summer (Tipifest)?

          5. shtrum | Mar 24, 2006 01:20pm | #15

            If i do it'll probably be a surprise appearance/last minute notice.  DW's brother and family are in Palisades (don't know how far that is from the Fest) so we'd try to combine the trips.  Their schedule is up in the air though, as is ours.  Lots of projects to do this summer . . . finish a fence, pour some sidewalks, etc..  Have over a ton of concrete sitting in the garage waiting to be used, and DW wants her garage back.

            Maybe i'll send Draftguy in my place . . . he's a loser.  <g>

            time to go runnin' . . . . . .

    3. JAlden | Mar 23, 2006 04:53pm | #6

      Now a thousand conversion vans will show up. People will be lighting candles and weeping for days.

  3. User avater
    aimless | Mar 23, 2006 06:41pm | #8

    You should come visit Great Basin National Park and hike Wheeler Peak someday. There are several trees there that are 3,000 years old and still alive. The oldest living thing we know about on the planet is a bristlecone on Wheeler Peak named Methuselah, clocking in at 4,700+ years old. There was an older tree named Prometheus that was cut down in the 60's (with permission!) by a geology student after his coring tool broke. Prometheus was over 4,800 years old when it was cut. There is a slice of that tree in the park center at Great Basin. It's amazing to look at when you consider how ancient that tree was in Biblical times.

    Those old trees are stunning and eerily beautiful.

    1. JohnSprung | Mar 25, 2006 02:22am | #16

      Interesting -- Has anyone counted rings back to the two intermediary periods that separated the old, middle, and new kingdoms of Egypt?  They appear to have been periods of unusually warm climate, a sort of ancient global warming.  

       

      -- J.S.

       

      1. User avater
        aimless | Mar 25, 2006 02:43am | #17

        I don't know. I do know that they've done climate studies on these trees, but for that specifically, I don't know the answer. The rings in a good year are still tight - these trees grow under some of the most punishing conditions and their growth is extremely slow.  They are so resinous that a fallen limb can sit on the ground for years (decades, if I recall correctly) before it rots.

        Interestingly, the same species doesn't live nearly so long when growing under more 'amenable' conditions. Bristlecones are better suited to dry weather and screaming wind, it seems, even though they grow bigger with more moisture.

        1. MisterT | Mar 25, 2006 01:54pm | #18

          Interestingly, the same species doesn't live nearly so long when growing under more 'amenable' conditions. Bristlecones are better suited to dry weather and screaming wind, it seems, even though they grow bigger with more moisture.

          Living well is the main cause of death.... 

          Mr. T. 

          There's a steering-wheel in me pants and it's driving me nuts!!!

           

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