A young man named Aaron Smith from the UK has a serious passion for finding geological treasures. The 23-year-old lives in Whitby. When he is not studying, he devotes all his time to his hobby.
One day, while walking on the beach at Sundsend, he discovers a smooth round object, golden in color, among the stones. The discovery looked like a cannonball. Scientists later discovered that it was « dragon gold ».
Smith’s discovery is not classified as a precious metal but it does have historical value. It is a mineral called pyrite, confused with gold. When he dug up the rock, the young man was amazed to find a fossilized prehistoric animal inside.
Beneath the lime layer were frozen spiral mollusks from the Jurassic era. Interestingly, they have survived well to the present day. The artifact is estimated to be 185 million years old!
This is not the first artifact that deserves the attention of the young researcher. He regularly finds rocks and other prehistoric treasures along the coast. Over the years, he amassed a large collection of these fossils.
The Brit shares his findings with his army of social media followers. He regularly posts new images. His Instagram page has many photos of rare specimens. Aaron Smith’s find certainly sparked media interest. In an interview, the young man said that anyone can find such a rare specimen if they want.
However, great patience is required, as the search can take hours. Finding members of an extinct class of cephalopod mollusks, particularly off the coast of Britain, is a real feat, he believes. He showed his impressive collection of fossils, which he keeps at home. He has no intention of stopping there.
Such rare specimens of prehistoric animals are the envy of any collector. The student spends a lot of time on the coast in search of new treasures. He is fascinated by the very process of exploration.
According to Aaron, after a storm, if you are lucky enough to find rare stones and slates with « stuffing » inside. Especially if you are walking along the Yorkshire coast. Subsequent investigations fully confirmed Aaron Smith’s intuition: the stone had been buried under water for a long time.
Today, the best-known cephalopod mollusks are squid and octopus. One day, they too will become historic works of art.
