Casa Rosales

Casa Rosales

Sunday 17 February 2013

Hunting Fossils

Thanks to Geo-classica for this beautiful image

Lyme Regis pavement

Ammonites. 
Aren't they just wonderful?

It was almost Mateo's first word - certainly his first passion - discovered on a holiday in Lyme Regis almost 12 years ago. 

He was fascinated by the creatures we found in the pavements, 





Lovely touch - Lyme Regis lamp posts in the shape of ammonites




on the lampposts, 













and on the beaches.

On the beach in Dorset - courtesy of Hannekje























It was a lovely holiday we had then and we've indulged our interest for all things fossilised and extinct ever since. We had a great time discovering the fossils on the east coast of England at Cromer, where mammoths used to roam and revisited Lyme Regis and nearby beaches several times when we lived in England. We also made a bee-line for the Jurassic Coast of Spain - Colunga in Asturias - and I've written before about the amazing beach there where the footprints of passing dinosaurs can be clearly seen. 

We have made friends with a lovely family here in Alcala la Real, who have a deep interest and work in biology, nature and ecology. We went with them yesterday on a fossil-hunting event in the Sierra Subbetica, less than 30 minutes to the west of Alcala. Meeting up at one of the centres of the area, Santa Rita, we were given a talk (oh, how they needed presentation skills!!) and time to look around the centre before we headed off to a little mountainside, where around 65 million years ago, something caused millions of ammonites and nautilus to collapse and die on the seabed. Ammonites didn't survive, though the nautilus did and is little changed in the subsequent millions of years. 

It was very clear that a tectonic plate shift (oh how easy it is to say this - you know what I mean, don't you - no further explanation needed) had occurred at some point after these creatures had died, settled at the bottom of the sea and become fossilied. How the fossils appear depends on the type of stone they are found in. These were in limestone and so we could mainly see outlines and patterns rather than whole, preserved ammonites. I took lots of photos with my new phone but when we got home, we couldn't download them - technology fails archeology!




These photos are from the area that we were in yesterday - what you can't see is all the children having an absolute ball, calling each other when they found another and finding little stones that may or may not have been bits of fossilied ammonite. 






Ours knew several of the children that went and the atmosphere was contagiously happy. The sun shone like it was summer and we walked and hunted and talked and marvelled. And whilst we didn't see anything like the monster ammonites we found in Lyme Regis, we saw some beautiful examples of these incredible 'snakestones' as they were called before fossils were known about. 
What must ancient people - not so ancient actually, as fossils weren't identified as such until the 18th century - must have thought about the things they found ? So much mythology must come from prehistoric finds - think about dragons and giants - surely the natural assumption of someone finding huge or unusual bones in the ground.


We will continue to struggle with the technology!





16 comments:

  1. What a wonderful way to spend a day out with your family. I'm fascinated by fossils and try to pass some on to the pupils I teach. I use them as an assembly theme for Y8 starting off with a trilobite which is more than 350 million years old.

    Precious, or what!

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    1. It was lovely, Gaynor. It was particularly good to be amongst such genuine enthusiasm - and it's definitely a fascination to share. It's quite mind blowing to imagine things that lived so very long ago.
      Axxx

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  2. What a brilliant family pursuit fossil hunting is for everyone.I spent a week in Lyme Regis on a geology field trip in 6th form---i still have my fossil collection!! Last year i read two books on Mary Anning--the 19th century female fossil hunter from Lyme Regis.

    The Fossil Hunter by Shelley Emling
    Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier.

    Both books captured the love of fossil collecting.If you haven't read them Annie i could send them over to you.

    xx M

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    1. Lyne Regis - apart from being too crowded in the summer - is one of my favourite places. We were absolutely bowled over by the prehistory all around. I bet you will always remember your week there.
      I haven't read these books - but will get a copy of my own - don't send yours though it's a very kind offer. As we are all keen, I'm sure they are ones that we'll want to keep! I love reading and can't get enough books, so a recommendation is all I need. Thank you so much, Maria!
      Axxx

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  3. I'm not sure if this will come out, but it should show the town medal of Thouars in the Deux Sevres, which gave its name to an era..Toarcian...and have a superb reserve in an old quarry complex just outside the town.
    The area was an ammonite paradise...

    http://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/var/nrv2_archive/storage/images/contenus/articles/2012/03/16/la-ville-va-se-refaire-frapper-la-medaille/16752327-1-fre-FR/La-Ville-va-se-refaire-frapper-la-medaille_image_article_droite.jpg

    Isn't it great that the children were enthralled by it all!

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    1. I've been through Thouars a couple of times but had no idea about it having given a name to an era - the name really rings a bell but I can't remember much about it just now. The link showed the town medal.

      The kids had a whale of a time - there were so many shapes to be seen in the rocks that it wasn't difficult for them to have a sense of discovery. We made a few little 'finds' - little ones that shouldn't have found their way to our home, but did...that's boys for you. Romy put all her finds back.
      We will go again, I have no doubt.
      Axxx

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  4. hello Annie:
    Yes, ammonites are extremely interesting and we can well imagine the delight with which your children seek them out and treasure them. One cannot help but wonder what creature the remains come from and for how long they have remained hidden. And, they are so very beautiful, works of art!

    Lyme Regis is an absolute favourite of ours. When one is there,one can still imagine Jane Austen walking along The Cobb as time really does seem to have stood still there.

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    1. I was fascinated by fossils as a child but only rediscovered them through my son's eyes - which was wonderful! And I can well imagine that you love Lyme Regis! It's inevitable that Jane Austen comes to life there - everything is as she described, isn't it?
      As for ammonites, they were strange things but how lovely we have them in their current forms to treasure - as you say, they really are works of art.
      Axxx

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  5. I've never been fossil hunting, always too busy digging up newer artefacts, but I now feel guilty that I didn't introduce my daughter to it. At first, I thought the top picture was one of your gorgeous chocolates, so I may not have made a very good fossil hunter.

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    1. Don't feel guilty, Annie - it's never too late! And as for spotting my next cunning chocolate plan - well done. When at the Visitor Centre, I asked if they would be interested in Jurassic Chocolates and they were very keen - even offered me the opportunity to do a workshop there sometime - so you were just slightly ahead of me on your observation. Axxx

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  6. Annie, I'm afraid I'm like Bodrum Annie, interested in archaeology rather than palaeontology, but I found this post fascinating. In all my 66 years I've never lived near or visited any of the well-known fossil-hunting places, so the only fossils I've seen have been in museums. What a shameful admission to have to make. :-) Thanks for filling in some of the gaps in my knowledge.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it, Perpetua. I have now retrieved my own photos - not so amazing but definitely mine, so there may be a follow up. I am particularly fond of ammonites as they are so beautiful and we're always excited to find one. My husband's auntie and uncle are expert hunters and have some fantastic 'finds'. Axxx

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  7. I just love the idea of Mateo's first words.....he could only be your son Annie. The images here, and those you have put on fb are great. There is something spectacular about the shapes and the never - endingness of it. My only ever trip to Lyme Regis was a week's school trip when I was 11. I fell in love with the Cobb, but otherwise memories of the trip are based around midnight feasts and sleeping in bunk beds for the first time.It is somewhere I have often thought of returning to, especially during the years of reading John Fowles, adoring the young Meryl Streep and wanting to wear long flowing capes like the French Lieutenants's woman.
    Another great post, managing to combine your Spanish adventures, your fascinatin past, and your beautiful children....and just a hint of chocolate.....perfect. Jxxx

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    1. And what a brilliant comment to find too! Thank you Janice - another place for a visit perhaps? You always seem to jog my memory too - as an 11 year old, my school trip was to the Derbyshire Peak District and we had a wonderful time much as you did, with a pillow fight at the end, resulting in SUCH a mess! It's incredible how many feathers fit into a pillow....
      Believe it or not, the visitor centre we went to on Saturday phoned me today to ask if I wanted to run a chocolate workshop! I had asked if they'd be interested in stocking themed chocolates...as you do. It's given me a lot to think about.
      Axxx

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  8. Whitby has its fossils too - I wonder if you know about St Hilda and the ammonites or snake stones? See http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/fossils/fossil-folklore/fossil_types/ammonites02.htm

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  9. Another favourite place - Whitby - but I was utterly ignorant of the story of St Hilda and her ability to turn the snakes into stone - fascinating! Thanks, Axxx

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