The Stones That Grow
In a Romanian village, people say the strange round stones in the sand grow larger after rain, and even sprout little stones of their own.
What was reported
In and around Costești, in Romania's Vâlcea county, the sand quarries are full of trovants: smooth, rounded stones in odd shapes, from pebbles to boulders several metres across. Local people say they 'grow' and multiply after heavy rain, sprouting new bumps.
The stones have been used for gravestones and walls, and a small open-air museum now protects them.
Explanations offered
Trovants are concretions: sand grains cemented together by minerals carried in groundwater. Over very long periods, more mineral layers build up around them, making them grow, but only by a few centimetres in a thousand years. Rain can wash away loose sand, making them seem bigger.
- When
- Formed over millions of years
- Where
- Costești, Vâlcea, Romania
- Witnesses
- Villagers and visitors
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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