What the Trees Kept (9 Photos)

People left them behind. The trees did not.

A headstone. A bicycle. A Buddha head. A millstone. In these nine places, bark and roots have slowly closed around old objects and old stone until they became part of the tree.

More: Trees Grown Around Objects

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🌳 The Cemetery Tree — Table Rock, Nebraska, USA 🇺🇸

In this 1983 photo, a small white headstone sits in a notch at the foot of the trunk, with the bark closing in from both sides. The tree stands in the city cemetery of Table Rock, Nebraska.

📷 Photo: Tequask / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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🙏 Buddha Head in the Roots — Ayutthaya, Thailand 🇹🇭

Only the face is free. The rest of this sandstone head is wrapped in the roots of a fig tree at Wat Mahathat. The statue is believed to have been decapitated by Burmese invaders in the 18th century. The head lay in the ruins until a tree grew on the spot and its roots closed around it.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsBuddha Head in the RootsMaker unknown · Wat Mahathat, Ayutthaya, ThailandSandstone headWat MahathatUNESCO site since 19911Visitors are advised to squat for photos so they do not look down on the Buddha.Atlas Obscura2Prachachat calls the root-covered sandstone Buddha head the highlight of Wat Mahathat.Prachachat200625 MayClose-up by McKay Savage20109 MayNational Geographic Photo of the Day201323 AugWhole tree, by Diego Delso20206 JanHead in the roots, close202331 DecPrachachat on the temple202518 NovHead still in the roots202610 MarKhaosod: still drawing crowdsRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Horiuchi / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

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🪦 The Hardy Tree — London, UK 🇬🇧

During railway works in the 1860s, gravestones were moved and stacked around an ash in the churchyard of St Pancras Old Church. The roots grew through the ring. The original tree fell in December 2022; the stones remain.

💡 History Fact: The tree is named after Thomas Hardy. Before he was known as a novelist, he oversaw the removal of many of the churchyard’s graves for the Midland Railway while working for the architect Arthur Blomfield.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe Hardy TreeLondon, United KingdomSt PancrasGravestones1According to the Camden New Journal, an ash grew through a ring of relocated gravestones.camdennewjournal.co.uk2Camden Council says a fungal infection was identified in 2014.news.camden.gov.uk200730 MarAsh and gravestones photographed202227 DecFall reported202228 DecCamden confirms the fallen tree202412 AprNew commemorative beech planted nearby; original ash remains goneRead the full file →

📷 Photo: David Edgar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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💣 The Cannonball Tree — Quebec City, Canada 🇨🇦

An iron sphere sat in the roots of an elm on rue Saint-Louis. It was long called a cannonball from the 1759 battle nearby; researchers later identified it as a firebomb deliberately reused as a guard stone. The sick elm was removed in 2021.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsArbre au bouletQuébec City, CanadaOld QuébecAmerican elmIron bomb1An American elm grew around the iron sphere.artpublic.ville.quebec.qc.ca2Québec City identifies the sphere as an incendiary bomb reused as a wheel guard.artpublic.ville.quebec.qc.ca201418 JulElm and iron sphere photographed20154 JunHistorical explanation published2021Elm felled2024Paryse Martin memorial created; original elm remains goneRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Jeangagnon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), cropped

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🛕 Ta Prohm — Angkor, Cambodia 🇰🇭

At Ta Prohm, giant roots pour over roofs and doorways. When the restoration of Angkor began in the early 20th century, French scholars decided to leave this 12th-century temple largely as it had been found, trees and all.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsTa ProhmJayavarman VII · 1186 · Angkor, CambodiaFounded 1186Originally RajaviharaUNESCO site since 19921Silk-cotton and strangler fig trees took root in the temple’s loosened stones, according to Atlas Obscura.Atlas Obscura2In March 2026 All India Radio reported two phases of Indian restoration complete and a third under way.All India Radio200229 JunCambodia Daily on the trees20031 JanIndia pledges restoration201126 SepDoorway under roots (our photo)20225 SepAPSARA prunes broken branches202324 MarGallery with roots202521 JulGiant tree and walkway202622 MarRestoration phase threeRead the full file →

📷 Photo: GayleKaren / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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🪨 The Millstone Tree — Dresden, Germany 🇩🇪

A millstone was left standing on its edge against this trunk, and the bark grew down over the top. The tree is in Pulvermühlenpark, on the site of a former gunpowder mill.

📷 Photo: Ubahnverleih / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

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🛞 The Wagon Wheel Tree — Texas, USA 🇺🇸

An old iron wagon wheel lies around the foot of a tree beside a trail, and the roots have grown over its rim. The tree is in Palmetto State Park.

💡 Place Fact: Palmetto State Park is named for the tropical dwarf palmettos that grow there. It opened in 1936, and Civilian Conservation Corps crews built its entry road, group pavilion and water tower in stone during the 1930s.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsWagon Wheel TreeMaker unknown · Palmetto State Park, TexasPalmetto State ParkWagon wheelGonzales County1A 2022 hiker found the wheel “absorbed by the tree that grew up around it”.Rod Haden2It lies beside the San Marcos River Trail, near the old mud boils.Penelope Percival Travels202117 MarTrail guide mentions the wheel202219 JanHiker photographs it202328 FebPhoto by Larry D. MooreRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Larry D. Moore / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

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🚲 The Bike on the Trestle — Washington, DC, USA 🇺🇸

The seat and frame stick out of the trunk; the chainring is half under the bark. Someone left the bicycle in the fork of a tree growing on an abutment of the Foundry Branch Trestle in Georgetown, a bridge built for electric streetcars in 1896.

💡 Place Fact: The 280-foot trestle carried Glen Echo Line streetcars until 1960. In July 2026, the National Park Service announced an agreement that allows the bridge to be removed.

📷 Photo: G. Edward Johnson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

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🪑 The Hungry Tree — Dublin, Ireland 🇮🇪

The armrest is gone, and the seat is going. This London plane stands by the entrance to King’s Inns park and has grown around the cast-iron bench beside it.

💡 Place Fact: King’s Inns was founded in 1541, during the reign of Henry VIII, and is the oldest formally established institution of professional legal education in Ireland.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe Hungry TreeDublin, IrelandLondon planeCast-iron bench1A London plane is growing around a cast-iron bench.irishtimes.com2According to TheJournal.ie, the tree stands by the South Gate of King’s Inns.thejournal.ie20144 MarTree and bench photographed by William Murphy201721 JulProtection debate reported2018FebReport on existing site protection202611 FebKing’s Inns names it in its groundsRead the full file →

📷 Photo: William Murphy / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)