Find out more about these fascinating, legendary fossils.
Whitby Snakestone
The folklore of snakestones in the Whitby area dates back to at least the 16th Century. In “Britannia”, 1586, William Camden records stones from Whitby which “if you break them you find within stony serpents, wreathed up in circles, but generally without heads”.
Legend has it that when the abbey at Whitby was built it was infested with snakes. The Abbess of the time, St Hilda turned them into stone at which point they lost their heads. In later years local fossil dealers sometimes restored their heads by carving them onto ammonites found on the shore. This is one such example. In this case the ammonite is Hildoceras bifrons, the scientific name in memory of St Hilda.
In store, Geology Collection, Yorkshire Museum
In store, Castle Museum, Military History Collection





