In this country, stones “come to life.” How to explain this mysterious phenomenon?

“Living stones” in Romania are growing, moving and even “multiplying”. This is an unusual phenomenon that is difficult to explain exactly. What are the so-called “trovants”?

[Photo: Nicubunu, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons]

Costești is a small Romanian town, located in the south of the country and west of Bucharest. About 12,000 residents live there, for whom the ubiquitous bears, Dracula or the werewolf are the least of their concerns. Not far from the city are stones that live a life of their own.

What are “living stones” in Romania?

So far, few reliable scientific studies have been devoted to them, although they have drawn the attention of local and foreign researchers. In Romania, they have been called trovanti (Romanian: trovanti). And even a special park (Muzeul Trovanților) has been created to learn more about these enigmatic structures.

Geologists say that “living rocks” are a type of concretion, or mineral aggregate, which is formed by the gradual accumulation of minerals. Interestingly, concretions occur not only on Earth, but also on other planets, including Mars.

Scientists say that trovants have the ability to “multiply”