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Obviously, its a stone.
But whats with the strange circular markings? Spotted it when out on a walk a couple of weeks ago.
It's probably aliens, after all it was in the middle of nowhere on the North York Moors.
I think it maybe looks like lichen or similar rather than cup and ring markings (man-made)?
I'm a geoligist but I think you need a biologist. Looks like concentric growth rings in lichen.
To be honest I'm helpless without a hammer, bottle of acid, magnifying glass etc.
Ah didn't think of lichen growth.
A quick google has thrown up some photos with similar markings on.
Thank you Singletrack for helping to solve this one
Looks more like a cup and ring marked stone that has lichen growing in the grooves-check on an OS map. Most cup and ring stones are marked.
Alternative hypothesis, a conical coral.
Nah, got the books out and they'd be more radial. I was rubbish at palaeontology.
Limestone perhaps but can’t really tell from the photo. The green circle id say lichen.
Beaten to it! I thought my geological knowledge was going to be essential to this, but yes, lichen.
I'm going to add to the lichen consensus too.
Unless you were on the southern edge of the moor it's unlikely to be limestone beneath it, more likely some sandstone.
Alien fingerprint.
Can't believe you all missed the obvious!
The NYM is mostly sandstone, usually reddish in colour but can be grey. There's limestone in the SW of the area but it's somewhat different to what you find in The Peak and Yorkshire and doesn't fracture in a clean way.
The really important question is: is it lyken or litchen?