In a small town in Romania called Costeşti, there are some enigmatic stones called “Trovants” (growing stones) that are living rock formations and unique thanks to their ability to multiply. Although at first glance they may seem like normal stones, mineralogists discovered the secrets that make them a treasure like no other.
They are made up of a core of hard stone, and the rest is made up of sand, arranged as a shell. The scientists determined that they are 6 million years old and in their beginning they would have been small pebbles until they currently reach 10 meters. But they do not grow fast: they can take 1,000 years to increase between 4 and 5 centimeters.
The secret for the growth of these stones is hidden in the water, specifically in water that is rich in calcium carbonate, essential to make the rock grow in the presence of rainwater, but scientists cannot explain how they create new matter.
When the scientists cut the stones in half, they were able to verify that they are made up of cemented sand and mineral salts, but also, they observed strange rings, similar to those seen when cutting a tree, which allows us to find out its age. For this reason, many researchers and experts believe that it is an “inorganic life form” .
Trovants have strange shapes as they grow, they can be cylindrical, nodular, or spherical, but they always have a smooth, rimless surface.
But the most enigmatic thing about these stones, in addition to increasing their size, is that they are capable of moving through the terrain. To explain this incredible movement, some theories have emerged, such as the existence of a strange magnetism or that there are unknown energy vortices in this region .
The trovants were discovered in the early ’40s, when they observed that hundreds of rocks scattered throughout the valley left mysterious tracks, as if they had moved. Some are small, but others can weigh up to 320 kg.
The rocks were declared a monument of humanity by Unesco and continue to hold mysteries for now inexplicable. To see them you have to go to Costeşti along the river at Gresarea Brook, approximately 15 km from Horezu.
