Giant petrified tree trunk found on Lemnos
A giant petrified tree trunk was discovered at a village on the north Aegean island of Lemnos during excavation and maintenance work carried out by staff of the Museum of Natural History of Lesvos.
The trunk is more than eight meters long and the tips of its branches have been preserved in excellent condition.
“This is an impressive…petrified trunk of a coniferous tree, for which we get a complete picture of its dimensions and is an indisputable proof of the value of Lemnos’ fossilized forest,” museum director Nikolaos Zouros told state-run news agency ANA-MPA of the discovery located outside the village of Varos.
The creation of the petrified forest is directly related to the volcanic activity in the area of the Aegean during mainly the Miocene, about 20 million years ago, Zouros said.
At that time, there was a generalized volcanic activity in the wider region of the northeastern Aegean and Asia Minor, due to which the petrified forests in Lemnos and Lesvos were created.
“As it is known, standing and lying petrified tree trunks have been found in the sea area between the two islands,” he added.
The petrified forest was declared as a protected monument of nature in 2013 and covers three areas of about 4.5 hectares in total.
