Sip back as we discover Romania and explore the living, growing and walking stones of the Trovant's Museum National Reserve near to the ancient Roman village of Costești less than an hours drive north on the D7 and DN71 from the capital city of Bucharest. Trovant's are a distinctive geological phenomenon found in the Oltenia region in southern part of Romania near to the Carpathian Mountains. Trovant's are concretions of rock formed by a combination of mineral accretion, diagenetic cementation, and weathering when sand grains are compacted under pressure together primarily by calcium carbonate. They are believed to have been shaped by the action of sediments during ancient earthquakes. These highly porous spherical limestone, sandstone or shale concretions are formed around a central nucleus sometime including a fossil bivalve or gastropod.
Trovant's were first named by the Romanian geologist Gheorghe Murgoci in 1907 and explained why these these stones appear to grow, move, and even reproduce. Historically these rocks have been described as dinosaur eggs or fossil plants and are today protected as part of the Muzeul Trovantilor or Trovant Museum Natural Reserve a recognised geological heritage site.
If you have decided upon a weekend break to nearby Bucharest you have chosen amongst one of the most vibrant cities in Romania with a rich history, culture and known as the "Little Paris of the East" because of its French-inspired architecture, grand boulevards, and Belle-Epoque buildings. If you are taking in the Trovant Museum Natural Reserve then your trip to Bucharest would be complete without a visit to the Grigore Antipa National Museum near to Piata Victoriei, on Pavel Dimitrievici Kiseleff Road no.1.
The Trovant’s of Romania are among a number of similar geological formations sharing comparable characteristics that exist around the world. From the Moeraki Boulders in New Zealand, the Valley of Balls or Torysh in Mangystau district of Kazakhstan, Klerksdorp Spheres in South Africa, Septarian concretions of the Isle of Wight in England and the Cannonballs, Bowling Balls and Mushrooms of California, Kansas and the North Dakota Badlands in USA.
Trovants are concretions of calcium carbonate and silica around mineral rich sedimentary sandstones and conglomerates formed in an marine environment around 5.3 million years ago towards the end of the Miocene Epoch. This was a time when the Paratethys Sea a remnant of the ancient Tethys Ocean submerged much of central and south-eastern Europe.
Over time, groundwater is absorbed and dissolved minerals permeate the outer porous rock of the Trovant and deposits a new layers of material gradually increasing its apparent ability to grow through mineral accretion.
Another characteristic that makes Trovants stand out is their reported movement or walking. While they do not move like a living organism they can shift slowly but slightly due to gravity, erosion or soil displacement. Over long periods, changes in their surrounding environment may cause them to migrate short distances.
Rocks moving is not a new phenomenon because both Death Valley National Park, California and Little Bonnie Claire Playa in Nevada have “Sailing stones” where movement is driven by a combination of ice, water, and wind across the desert floor.
Trovants can also “bud” off from larger rocks rather than physically “reproduce”. This is another effect of the mineral accretion process. In this instance the build-up of mineral deposits forms nodules that eventually separate away by weathering and erosion. It’s this life like quality that endears them as the "living stones."