Stone Mania

Ammonites are an extinct group of marine animals which make excellent index fossils.  It is often possible to link the rock layer in which ammonites are found to specific geological time periods. Surprisingly, the ammonite's closest living relatives are the octopus, squid and cuttlefish.

The name ammonite comes from their spiral shape which resembled tightly coiled rams' horns according to the ancient and highly respected author and natural philosopher Pliny the Elder.  He named ammonite 'ammonis cornua' (horns of Ammon) because the Egyptian God Ammon was typically depicted wearing ram's horns.

Ammonites are extinct members of the cephalopod class.  Ammonoid cephalopods first appeared during the late silurian to early devonian period around 400 million years ago and became extinct towards the end of the cretaceous period around 65 million years ago along with the dinosaurs.  Because ammonites and all of their close relatives are extinct, little is known about their way of life.  Their soft body parts are practically never preserved in any detail, but much has been worked out from examination of their shells.  It is believed that they lived in the open water of ancient seas rather than on the sea bed.

In medieval times ammonites were believed to be petrified snakes (the conversion of wood or other organic matter into a stony replica by petrifaction). Ammonites were frequently fitted with carved snake-like heads and sold to pilgrims.  A famous example of this links these fossils common in the Jurassic sediments around Whitby, North Yorkshire with the legend that St Hilda turned a plague of snakes into stone.  Sometime during the sixteenth or seventeenth century, the ammonite became a symbol of Whitby.  Tradesmens tokens bearing three ammonites within a shield are recorded as far back as 1667.  In 1935 it was officially adopted onto the town of Whitby's coat of arms where it still resides to this day. These ammonites became known as the 'Arms of Whitby' and can be found on symbols of local heraldry.

It is also said that the original discus used by the ancient Greeks in their olympics was in fact a fossilized ammonite.

In India ammonites are identified with the God Vishnu and are used in various religious ceremonies. They are mostly collected in Nepal from the bed of the Gandaki river where it cuts through Jurassic sediments.

In crystal healing, ammonite is considered to be a protective stone, giving stability and structure to ones life.  It can also transform negativity into smooth, flowing energy.

The following links offer further reading on ammonites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonite

http://paleodirect.com/ammonites.htm