Deep within the dark, winding passages of a Wilkes-Barre coal mine, workers stumbled upon an unexpected glimpse into prehistoric times. This wasn't just any piece of petrified wood; this stump had survived from the Carboniferous Period, an era almost unimaginable in its temporal distance from our own. Back then, the area that is now Pennsylvania was a swampy forest, dense and lush. Over millions of years, those giant plants fell and were buried under layers of earth. Subjected to intense heat an