This is Russian Bog Oak lifted from the bottom of a river near the city of Chernigov. This precious material is called Russian "Black wood". The Bog Oak have been soaked in many years of history. Over centuries and a mellinium, sinking Oak trunks lay upon the bottom of a surface of water. They lie there for many years without any exposure to oxygen, completely submerged. In result of the chemical processes, the sap from the wood and minerals from the water dye the wood a black color. The birthplace of Bog Oak transpires from a few extremely important components: Oak trees growing by the riverside, a certain speed of the river current, and a few definite minerals in the water. Bog Oak is an extremely rare and unique material which color speaks for itself. The light pinkish yelow color represents aging from three to four hundred years, while the black is equivalent to more than a thousand years. Like elite wines, this incomparable wood undergoes many years of preservation, enabling the wood to gain a few unique qualities. Bog Oak is incredibly stoic, and through it's longevity it obtains an unrepeated texture. For a long period of time Russian " Black wood" has been used in carpentry, jewelry, knifemaking, etc. In Rus' there are many beleifs about the healing properties that Bog Oak contains. The wood is commonly used to heal people, and was especially popular as an item that usually surronded people. This valuable wood emanates a type of living energy that people absorbed involuntarily, thus speeding up the process of healing. The age of these Bog Oak blocks has been determined by a radiocarbon analysis and it's about 5460 years. . The winner of this auction will get a copy of Radiocarbon Date Certificate. The size of these blanks is about 5 3/4"- 1 3/4"- 3/8" (145 mm x 45 mm x 10 mm). Dried and ready for your projects.