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Fossils: Myth & Magic
In medieval Europe, fossilized ammonites were thought to be petrified snakes and were called "snakestones." They were taken to be evidence for the actions of saints such as St. Hilda and St. Patrick. Traders would occasionally carve the face of a snake into the empty, wide end of the ammonite fossil and sell it to the public. Ammonites from the Gandaki river in Nepal are known as saligrams and are believed by some Hindus to be the discus or chakra held by Vishnu.
Read Steve Connor’s article about the facts and fictions of fossils in The Independent.
Fossils
Fossils are the preserved remains, or the imprint of the remains, of dead animals or plants. Fossils can be formed from bones, teeth, the hardened shells of invertebrates (like ammonites), the impressions left by decayed animals and plants, and even skin impressions and hair.
One common type of spiral fossil is the ammonite, an extinct cephalopod related to the chambered nautilus. Hard-shelled ammonites fossilized easily, a fact that, along with their abundance and endurance across several geologic periods, means that there a profusion of ammonite fossils in the world today.
To see many pictures of fossils, visit: http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Galleries/Ammonites.htm
Ammonites
The ammonite gets its name from the Egyptian god Ammon, whose appearance is that of a man with horns like a ram. Ammonites are shaped like ram’s horns, and the ancient fossil was considered by the Egyptians to be Ammon’s stone; thus it inherited its name from its affiliated deity.
Ammonite fossils vary in size from smaller than a centimeter in diameter to as large as two meters. Earlier specimens tended to be smaller, usually less than twenty-three centimeters (about nine inches).
