A "Hag Stone" or Coral Rock ? An incredible finding in St Croix

During our time in St. Croix, my husband found a curious object buried in crushed shell along the wash, about 10 feet from shore. At first, it looked like an old fishing weight, though he also wondered if it could be completely natural.

When he asked AI about it, the response was fascinating: finding something with such a perfectly formed hole right along the surf line is always an exciting discovery.

If we go with a natural explanation, this could be a limestone or coral rock that was bored into by marine organisms over many years.

The texture of the rock is extremely porous, resembling ancient compressed coral or porous limestone — both major components of the geology and reef structures around St. Croix.

As for the hole itself, several marine organisms, most notably boring clams, marine worms, and even some sea urchins, are known to scrape or chemically dissolve perfectly round openings into soft rock and coral, creating safe shelters for themselves.

Once the organism creates the hole, the constant rough-and-tumble action of the surf rolls the rock through sand and crushed shell for decades. Over time, this smooths the sharp edges and can leave behind a teardrop or pear-shaped stone with a naturally formed opening, much like this one.

Naturally perforated stones like these are often called “hag stones,” “fairy stones,” or “adder stones.” In many seafaring cultures, they were considered good luck charms believed to protect sailors from storms and bad luck at sea.

At the same time, the piece also resembles an ancient fishing weight. Long before modern lead or plastic sinkers existed, Indigenous Caribbean people — including the Taíno and Carib cultures, used local materials to create fishing gear. Soft limestone and coral were often shaped into net sinkers or line weights.

In more recent times, in many cases, some fishermen may not have carved a weight entirely from scratch. Instead, they could have found rocks with naturally formed holes created by marine organisms, then enlarged or refined the opening using harder tools so that palm fiber or sinew lines could pass through.

When examining the hole closely with a magnifying glass and bright light, we looked for concentric marks or scratch lines that might indicate human drilling. Smooth circular grooves would point more toward human craftsmanship. However, given how uniformly worn and naturally polished the entire piece appears, it leans slightly toward being a beautifully eroded natural stone with a biological boring hole. The surf acts like a giant rock tumbler, constantly shaping soft coral rock into aerodynamic forms like this.

Still, because it was found in St. Croix, an island rich in pre-Columbian maritime history — the possibility that it may have once been used as ancient fishing gear certainly exists.

Either way, it is a wonderful keepsake from the Caribbean, and we like to imagine it may even be a small piece of art and history from an ancient civilization.

Click Me