Little wonders

It wasn’t just big bones that inspired these stories. Even the smallest fossils have their own stories in the places where they were found. Take ammonites, for example.

What are ammonon… anomon… what are they? Ed

Ammonites were cephalopods, often with tightly wound shells, the ancient ancestors of squids and octopuses. They became extinct about 66 million years ago, but their tightly curled shells have inspired folklore wherever they were found.

In some parts of Britain, fossilised ammonites were called ‘snakestones’, because they were believed to be the remains of snakes that lived there a long time ago. Many of these snakestones were found in the town of Whitby, on the coast of Yorkshire. According to local lore, back in the seventh century, Saint Hilda wanted to build an abbey in the town. First, she had to get rid of all the snakes, so she cut off their heads (unnecessary, ed), turned them to stone, and threw them into the sea. Then she built an abbey on the top of a cliff, where ruins of a later abbey stand today.

In Germany, ammonites are known as ‘dragonstones’.

DRAGONS? Ed.

Still no.

They were used to encourage cows to begin producing milk. In North America, the Niitsitapi people living in Southern Alberta called ammonites ‘buffalo stones’, because they thought they looked like sleeping buffalo. They used them in special ceremonies to help them round up herds. In Hindu culture, ammonites found inside black limestone are called ‘shaligram’. They are kept in temples and homes, and are believed to be connected to the god Vishnu.