Every pebble on a beach is potentially ancient, every sand kernel was potentially once a large rock. My favourite earrings and the matching pendant are certifiably ancient, they are ammonites, actual fossils.
In Nierstein, a wine growing village next to the river Rhein, they have a 30 million years old petrified sequoia trunk in front of their townhall. A combination of two materials, wood and stone.
Another combination of wood and stone, both ancient , is the Roman bridge in Weinheim.
It’s probably not the most impressive Roman artifact found in Germany from around 200 CE but it is around 1800 years old. The imposing oak tree next to it was 300 years old when it was hit by lightning in 2018.
In this photo one can see the huge chunk that was ripped off the oak, leaving only one third of the whole tree. Unfortunately, a year later it became clear that the damage was too great and it could not recover. It was a sad affair but the story doesn’t end here.
A local artist used the wood and carved the figure of the Gruffalo out of it, sponsored by the local publishing house which publishes the German edition. The Gruffalo has since been joined by the other characters from the book but the Gruffalo is the eldest, truly ancient. How could anyone doubt that he ever existed?
Lens-Artists Challenge #370: Ancient
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pictures imperfect blog 
Fabulous gallery of ancient. I like the story of the remains of the mighty Oak being reused in such a wonderful way 😀
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Totally.
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Fantastic post, Elke! I love that you focused on materials, so smartly done. And you can’t go wrong with the Gruffalo as far as I’m concerned! Do you know there’s a new Gruffalo story coming out next year?
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I had heard about it. Thanks, Sofia. As the publisher for the German edition is my hometown they make a big deal about it. We also have the Gruffalo path with all the figures sculpted in wood for now close to 10 years.
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Except those delightful shiny black ones that turn out to be tar- after you put it in your pocket! hehehe
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😮 oh!
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So sad about the the Elke but I smiled to see the carving that preserved it. Excellent choice for the challenge.
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Thank you, Tina. Glad you like the Gruffalo!
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Love your take on – and my grandchild LOVES the Gruffalo!
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Our grandson did, too, when he was little. But his sisters said, with great emphasis and unusual grammar: “Love I do not the Gruffalo!”(in German, of course: “Ich liebe nicht den Grüffelo.”
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