Trovants: Romania’s Mysterious Living Stones That ‘Grow’ and ‘Move’


While Dracula may not have been a real creature that existed in the distant past, Stones that are able to ‘grow’ and ‘move’ are Romania’s reality.
It may seem impossible or sound like a massive conspiracy, but there are rocks in Romania known as Trovants that have puzzled experts ever since they were spotted for the first time.
No one completely understands how the stones are able to grow and move, and why some of them have roots or age rings like trees. Are Trovants rocks? Or are they living creatures?






Image Credit: Descopera.
As noted by experts, the enigmatic rocks can grow from a few millimeters, to as large as 10 meters. Because of that particular feature, they are also referred to as “The Stones that Grow”.
And they really do grow, especially after it rains. People have reported spotting new trovants rising from the ground.
You can find the so-called Trovants near Costesti, a small Romanian village. In Romanian, ‘Trovants’ means cementer sand. The term was coined by Romanian naturalist Gh. M. Murgoci in his work “The Tertiary in Oltenia.”
Image Credit: Descopera.
The stones are fascinating, and you can even take one, pant it in your garden watch it grow.

After every rainfall, the enigmatic stones come to ‘life’ and start growing.

But not only are trovants able to grow, but scientists have also discovered they are able to move from one place to another.

And there’s a perfectly sane reason for that.
Trovants can only be made by highly-porous sand accumulations and sandstone deposits that are cemented by waters rich in calcium carbonate. It has been found that trovants are mainly composed by a hard stone core, while their outer parts are made of sand which tends to accumulate around the core.







Image Credit: Descopera
The reason why the stones are able to multiply is thanks to the stone’s ability to absorb the rain’s minerals.
Those same minerals are then combined with chemicals that are already inside the stone, creating a reaction and exerting pressure in the interior.
The pressure that accumulates makes the rock grow from the center to its limits causing it to multiply.
Trovants can ‘move’ from one place to another but they also grow root-like extension and age rings that are clearly visible when the stone is cut.
Scientists have not been able to fully explains these strange features.
You can visit Romania’s Valcea County to see the ‘living stones’ for yourself, or you can head over to the “Trovants Museum” Natural Reserve in the Costeşti village to see the enigmatic natural formations.
It is noteworthy to mention that living stones are not unique to Romania, so far, scientists have discovered similar geological features across Europe, including countries like the Czech Republic and Russia.

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