Discover Romania and Explore the Geodiversity of the Trovants in Costesti
- Feb 8, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 3
The Trovant Museum Natural Reserve near Costești, Romania is one of Europe’s most unusual geological heritage sites. Located in the Oltenia region near the Carpathian Mountains, these so-called “living stones” are rare rock concretions formed through mineral accretion, cementation, and weathering processes dating back to the late Miocene Epoch. Often spherical and highly porous, Trovants can appear to grow, bud, or slowly move as minerals are deposited by groundwater over time. Once mistaken for dinosaur eggs or fossil plants, they were scientifically explained in 1907 and are now legally protected. Easily visited from Bucharest, the reserve offers a remarkable blend of geology, natural history, and cultural fascination.
Trovant's were first named by the Romanian geologist Gheorghe Murgoci in 1907 and explained why these these stones appear to grow, move, and even reproduce. Historically these rocks have been described as dinosaur eggs or fossil plants and are today protected as part of the Muzeul Trovantilor or Trovant Museum Natural Reserve a recognised geological heritage site.
If you have decided upon a weekend break to nearby Bucharest you have chosen amongst one of the most vibrant cities in Romania with a rich history, culture and known as the "Little Paris of the East" because of its French-inspired architecture, grand boulevards, and Belle-Epoque buildings. If you are taking in the Trovant Museum Natural Reserve then your trip to Bucharest would be complete without a visit to the Grigore Antipa National Museum near to Piata Victoriei, on Pavel Dimitrievici Kiseleff Road no.1.
The Trovant’s of Romania are among a number of similar geological formations sharing comparable characteristics that exist around the world. From the Moeraki Boulders in New Zealand, the Valley of Balls or Torysh in Mangystau district of Kazakhstan, Klerksdorp Spheres in South Africa, Septarian concretions of the Isle of Wight in England and the Cannonballs, Bowling Balls and Mushrooms of California, Kansas and the North Dakota Badlands in USA.
Trovants are concretions of calcium carbonate and silica around mineral rich sedimentary sandstones and conglomerates formed in an marine environment around 5.3 million years ago towards the end of the Miocene Epoch. This was a time when the Paratethys Sea a remnant of the ancient Tethys Ocean submerged much of central and south-eastern Europe.
Over time, groundwater is absorbed and dissolved minerals permeate the outer porous rock of the Trovant and deposits a new layers of material gradually increasing its apparent ability to grow through mineral accretion.
Another characteristic that makes Trovants stand out is their reported movement or walking. While they do not move like a living organism they can shift slowly but slightly due to gravity, erosion or soil displacement. Over long periods, changes in their surrounding environment may cause them to migrate short distances.
Rocks moving is not a new phenomenon because both Death Valley National Park, California and Little Bonnie Claire Playa in Nevada have “Sailing stones” where movement is driven by a combination of ice, water, and wind across the desert floor.
Trovants can also “bud” off from larger rocks rather than physically “reproduce”. This is another effect of the mineral accretion process. In this instance the build-up of mineral deposits forms nodules that eventually separate away by weathering and erosion. It’s this life like quality that endears them as the "living stones."
