Seeing the photo in your reply post, I am reminded of some early (usually gray-to-black) faience beads from antiquity. These can be seen in Lankton's "A Bead Timeline," Chapter 3, specimens 368.

These faience beads date from ca. 5,000 years ago, and were found in Syria.

However, I cannot say I recognize your bead. Nor can I tell from surface characteristics whether it is made from glass, something glassy (faience), metal, or whatever.

JDA.

Hello, thank you for your answer.

I looked in the book you described.

The Bead/ Stone really looks like Figure 362/368.

But I do not believe that mine is made of metal or glass.

Is there a way to test it?

Is there a kind of friction test?

I can test if it has metallic components.

Or is it just a kind of fossil?

Thx a Lot

Hi, Absolutely no expert here but I have a few impressions.

However I have a few questions first, if you don't mind indulging me.

1.) Size in mm Length, width variations, and openings please. What is the scale of the paper it is on- I can see it is a graph paper? But I would like more exact measurements please.
How "thick" is it?

2.) Weight in Grams to the nearest tenths please.

4.) What is your impression of it- as in ceramic, faience, bone, glass, metal, fossil material, amber? etc.

5.) What does it smell like? Does it smell burned? Does it smell like Oil as in heating oil/kerosene? Does it smell like play dough, or like metal, or????

6.) As it appears "delaminated" for lack of a better word, is the wear just in the central portion? When you look at the transitional areas from the middle delaminated portion to the more smooth areas towards the ends- how would you describe, and/ or can you photograph in Macro? The way it transitions

7.) What does it look like inside?

8.) Is it magnetic?

9.) If you have a geiger counter is it reactive?

That's it...Thanks, Anne

Hunch: Fossil

Hello,

- the scale of the boxes on the paper are 5mm x 5mm

- It definitely feels like a stone

- it smells like nothing

- The holes are conical to the middle and meet a little offset

- I will try to take photos in better light and from the holes and to post the exact measurements

thx a Lot

Great Pics BTW

It will be fun to see how the holes are "made" if you are able to get a shot.

"The holes are conical to the middle and meet a little offset" per OP Mark. Could be bow drilled material such as stone, bone, or fossil material perhaps? (Remember no expert here).

More guessing-I should think if it were pottery or powered glass that they could have inserted something like a reed and have it burn away to leave a central hole? So this makes me think otherwise.

So sort of guessing by the 5mm grid- about 55mm/ 0r around 2" ?

I added to my crazy list:
? magnetic
? radioactive (as in fossil bone FYI),

Cool!

Anne

More Pictures

Pictures of Holes

Interesting- thanks!

Hello,

I've done a few more tests on the object:

- The object is magnetic (but not very strong)

-> magnet and object attract each other
-> object and other metal do not attract

Funny this is my minelab and my Garret detector at the
Object make no sound.

What is magnetic (metallic) but not indicated by a metal detector?

I pulled the object over a fine whetstone.
- There was an abrasion which one recognizes on the object
- But no colored abrasion on the grindstone
- The object also remained black in the place

I had thought it may be a drilled out Tektite (ejecta from a meteorite impact), if it had not been magnetic at all- Some of them look quite similar in shape and surface appearance. But- tektites are not magnetic because they are not crystalline. Usually they are formed from some sort of sand or whatever the surface was that melted during the impact.

Dumbbell shaped tektite for reference

However, Some Tektites can contain microscopic Ni-Fe spheroids (Nickel-Iron), so this is a possibility. https://gsw.silverchair-cdn.com/gsw/Content_public/Journal/ammin/52/5-6/am-1967-721/1/am-1967-721.pdf.gif?Expires=1552686410&Signature=LiGKFAjHty9wI~e9kZoO7Tu2UsCM8ZA8GY6w~sU0sCat9~gLMIvwZN3vtY5GBZsIK8-aQEhr9SmdTDw15LPu-PV79fgY3XJBW-W7ynun6ONRIiu46sw7EA3h3MWKyp-L5eEAbnrPKj3DT~lIWRPPGoAY~6Nwvd8fGGteKhT3Ry1leFShX06BJb0d3KDA9ZL3TYv6Vm3XLtk4mHeWdeOTdJ6VZqxYvN0GS4Kqaa2~iz585F6N-S5OgwVbJs0S864yP-2EzU5OYy~o-W1RszQYuWEzVPVcinZu9XVDprFu9nocfSLY5pxwjPjEJsNYX2-WZR2N0Y~FWfUTnUCaKQczsA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA

The above abstract indicated varying % of Ni-Fe spheroids in some tektites. Impactite glass bombs from the Meteor Crater, AZ area can contain from 20 to 65 weight percent nickel. . Not sure if that would even be enough to account for weak magnetism. Still reading... Evidently the metallic spherules are introduced either from the meteor itself or from the impact site, and can be contained within the tektite or as a "coating" of sorts.

So, onward. Still thinking.

But withch material is magnetic Fe and dont indicated by my metal detectors?

If I understand your question correctly your Metal Detector should detect ANY metal not just Magnetic Metal.

YES you would think that if it is METAL that your Metal Detector would go off

However, I do not know how sensitive your Metal Detector is....or what setting it is on.

You have said:
"The object is magnetic (but not very strong)

-> magnet and object attract each other
-> object and other metal do not attract"

You might try turning up your sensitivity on the Metal Detector and checking a few variables?

Looks like from what I've read so far that MOST Tektites would NOT be Magnetic, and NOT have Nickel and Iron Spherules. The RARE examples that DO contain metal have wide variations in amounts. I guess IF the metal content were high enough, it could produce weak? magnetism....?

So I would think we cannot YET rule out Tektite. Perhaps if you look at the surface ( do you have a magnifying Jewelers Loupe? or Macro Lens?) to see if it looks like glass- as a Tektite would- that could help. Of course wear and other factors will shape a glass surface, but I would think something identifiable could be discovered, especially in the "rough" areas.

More Info on Tektites: https://www.tektites.info

CLOSE MACRO PICS of the ROUGH surface areas could help us understand what the material is- such as surface fracture patterns ?