PUBLISHED: 28 May 2024 at 04: 41
Rice-shaped objects discovered in a stone regarded as divine by many people in Sukhothai were recently discovered as fossils of single-celled organisms dating again 252 to 359 million years.
The Department of Mineral Resources has dispelled any rumors about the stone, which has gained widespread attention among locals. Some people believe that the rice-shaped objects in the stone are remnants of leftover rice that are transformed into a stone in a folk tale into “rice of Phra Ruang.”
On Twitter, the ministry said the strange objects in the stone are the fossils of prehistorical individual- celled organisms, microfossils, which are generally known as fusulinids.
According to the office, fusulinids became dead at the end of the Permian Period, or about 252 million years ago. They resembled rice grains in size and shape, but some types could be as much as 5 cm.
The fossils of fusulinids are known as khao san hin ( rice stone ), and they are frequently found in limestone mountains in many parts of Thailand because of their shape and size.
Due to a folktale about Phra Ruang and his cherished thoughts, some Sukhothai people refer to the mountains as “rice of Phra Ruang” and are thought to be valuable.
According to a folk tale, Phra Ruang, who was in the monkhood, scattered left rice from a plate onto the floor and wished them into stones that would last for years. The mountains are thought to be sacred, offer good fortune, and shield people from harm.
Most of the rocks in the Sukhothai city of Muang Kao, Phra Bat Yai Mountain, are found there, along with fusulinid remains. After the cut, the rocks are made into spiritual pendants and ornaments, while left powder is used as materials in amulet- doing.
Jessada Denduangboripant, a professor at Chulalongkorn University, previously wrote on his Facebook page that the grain- shaped objects are no “rice grains turned into rock” but the fossils of ancient little marine organisms.
” They are n’t grains that turned into a rock. They are fusulinid fossils, and they are n’t so rare”, he said.