Does this Caithness cave contain remains of ancient giant tree?
The fossilised remains of an ancient giant tree may have been identified inside a cave along the Caithness coast.
Local photographer Fergus Mather has been revisiting some of the geological features in the county with his brother Arthur, a former geologist.
During a sea trip on the Geo Explorer down the dramatic coastline between Wick and Whaligoe with skipper William Munro, Fergus photographed the interior of a cave christened by kayakers as Caithness Cathedral Cave.
Situated between Ashy Geo and Ires Geo, it features an unusual arch-like structure forming an entrance into an inner sanctum. Overhead is an open circular feature of harder rock standing out above a silvery white semi-circular formation supported by two pillars curving downwards.
This led to Midlothian-based former geologist Arthur Mather to provisionally identify the feature as fossil remains of a giant fungal tree from the Devonian period, around 400 million years ago, a time when land plants were developing rapidly.
One of the dominant species was Prototaxites, which had a stem with a hard exterior and softer centre. Arthur sees the top circular structure as a cross-section of the trunk, having broken from its stump underneath, with the roots penetrating through layers of sediment below.
There is some evidence for a landslip around where the trunk would have landed.
The observation has been recorded in The Edinburgh Geologist, the magazine of the Edinburgh Geological Society, where it is noted under a new feature as a significant “geological curiosity” with requests for further comments.
Fergus added that it is hoped that closer study and possibly accessing further into the cave can throw more light on this exciting discovery.