Bell stone

Japanese: 鈴石 - すずいし

A type of rare stone. It is the same type as the rattle stone. It is a small, spherical or ellipsoidal lump of earth (tubercle), which makes a sound like a bell when shaken. The one that is produced in the suburbs of Nayoro City, Hokkaido, is famous and is called Nayoro's Suzuishi, and was designated a natural monument in 1939. It is a hollow lump of earth 3 to 6 cm in diameter, and was formed when an iron-rich tubercle made of hardened clay and sand dissolved in the center (it is said that the lime-rich core dissolved), leaving the surrounding sand inside. It is produced in river terrace layers from the Quaternary Pleistocene.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

珍石の一種。鳴石rattle stoneと同類。球ないし楕円体の小さい土塊(結核体)で，振ると鈴のように音をだす。北海道名寄市郊外より産出するものが有名で，名寄の鈴石とよばれ，1939年天然記念物に指定された。これは径3～6cmの中空の土塊で，粘土や砂が固まってできた鉄分の多い結核体が，その中心部で溶けだし(石灰分の多い中核が溶出するといわれる)，まわりの砂などが中に残ることによって形成された。第四紀更新世の河岸段丘層から産出する。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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