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Ancient Buried Cypress Wood

SPECIAL NOTE TO CUSTOMERS:  WE ARE NOW SELLING SMALLER SECTIONS OF THESE AMAZING SLABS; YOU CAN NOW BUY A $300+ LENGTH OF MOST ANY PIECE.

THE STORY: Around 220 AD, a Cypress tree sprouted in South Louisiana. Over the next 750 years, it grew big and tall, reaching 6’ in diameter. Around 970 AD, it fell and became buried in the soft soil; its' massive trunk preserved. Over the next 1,000+ years, it laid there: No sunlight or air; by all accounts it was frozen in time. Over the centuries, 35’ of soil eventually covered it, as a thousand years pushed it farther beneath the surface.

In the Fall of 2012, a dredging operation discovered it and others while digging. This Cypress tree, BC-001/BC-002, was so large that it had to be extracted in two massive sections totaling 32’ long. In total, 14 buried Cypress trees were found of varying size and age. Some still had bark on them!  This was an unprecedented find.

The grain of the buried Cypress is rich in color, ranging from tan to olive to brown to red to grey. There are gorgeous cathedrals and incredibly tight growth rings that shimmer, attesting to the unusual resting place among mineral-rich soil. Some pieces have crotch grain, quilting, or pecky. Radiocarbon dating by the worldwide leader, Beta Analytic Labs, has documented the age of each tree.   We've sawn them into sizes ranging from 10” to 50” wide, 2.25” or 3.25” thick, and up to 20' long!  They've also been slowly kiln dried over several years.  All are individually numbered, dimensioned, photographed and listed here for sale.

Fun facts of world history can be found here  https://www.historycentral.com/dates/MainBeforeBC.html and here https://www.historycentral.com/dates/Main1000AD.html