Opalized limb-
Megyaszó, Hungary.
Miocene epoch. (Lower Pannon)
9″ long 4″ diameter.
Megyaszó in Eastern Hungary has long been known for its opalized wood. Megyaszó is about 12 miles from the nearest town, Szerencs, somewhat separated from the main chain of the Tokaji (Zemplén) Mountains. Mineral collectors know the site as on the nearby hill Hosszú Hegy (Hegy = hill, mountain), precious …opals can be found. The rhyolites of the hill chain are economically mined and processed in Mád.
Paleobotanicaly Megyaszó is first mentioned in 1790 (Born) and from the mid-19th Century on the woods finds are described with a certain regularity by Austrian and Hungarian geologists. Here, the findings come from two very different sites. One is the Tetlinke trench with mainly gymnosperm wood in tuffa and the other, the northwest slope of the hill Nagy Répás, which is characterized by opalized sandstone and breccias. Both sites are dated to the lower Pannon. The Nagy Répás Hegy is part of the volcanic chain the precious opal site on Hosszú Hegy also belongs to. Here, the layer with fossil wood begins just below the surface and ranges through stone and root-permeated soil about three feet deep in most places.
Megyaszó, Hungary.
Miocene epoch. (Lower Pannon)
9″ long 4″ diameter.
Megyaszó in Eastern Hungary has long been known for its opalized wood. Megyaszó is about 12 miles from the nearest town, Szerencs, somewhat separated from the main chain of the Tokaji (Zemplén) Mountains. Mineral collectors know the site as on the nearby hill Hosszú Hegy (Hegy = hill, mountain), precious …opals can be found. The rhyolites of the hill chain are economically mined and processed in Mád.
Paleobotanicaly Megyaszó is first mentioned in 1790 (Born) and from the mid-19th Century on the woods finds are described with a certain regularity by Austrian and Hungarian geologists. Here, the findings come from two very different sites. One is the Tetlinke trench with mainly gymnosperm wood in tuffa and the other, the northwest slope of the hill Nagy Répás, which is characterized by opalized sandstone and breccias. Both sites are dated to the lower Pannon. The Nagy Répás Hegy is part of the volcanic chain the precious opal site on Hosszú Hegy also belongs to. Here, the layer with fossil wood begins just below the surface and ranges through stone and root-permeated soil about three feet deep in most places.