A good location at which to find a range of Carboniferous fossils, including crinoidal limestone and corals, as well as plant remains and trace fossils in sandstone. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Where to find fossils and what to find. UK Fossils features hundreds of fossil collecting locations in the UK, with geological guides and fossil hunting events.
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What is a fossil?
The word Fossil used to be defined as ‘something dug up’. Now-a-days it generally means ‘The remains or trace evidence of prehistoric life’. The study of fossils is called palaeontology; someone who collects and studies them is called a palaeontologists. Fossils can be as tiny as a grain of pollen or a seed for e.g. or as huge as a limb bone from a giant dinosaur. For animal or plant remains to have become ‘fossilised ‘, they must go through a certain process that preserves them for up to millions of years after they have died. Usually it is only the hard parts of plants and animals that survive this long process.
How Fossils Formed
The most common method of how fossils formed is once an animal or plant dies, it falls to the ground, and is covered by sediment. This is often sediments brought from water. Of the vast amount of prehistoric life that died, it is only a tiny amount that has survived the fossilisation process. The conditions when the majority of life died were just not right at that time, to preserve them.
Where to find fossils
Fossils can be found in many places, most fossils are found on the beach or in quarries but many have been found in some very unusual places. Below is a list of places that you could find fossils. Please note some places such as quarries and farm fields need permission before you can enter, other places where fossils form part of the construction such as sea defences and walls, should not even be attempted. Damaging other peoples property is not only illegal, but morally wrong.
Equipment Guide
When fossil collecting, you will need the correct equipment. Often, each location will differ and of course depending on the weather and time of the year, you will also need to consider the correct clothing.If you are collecting in a quarry, there are important health and safety requirements by law. These are that you must wear a hard-hat, high visibility jacket and steel-toe-cap boots. This guide explains the recommended equipment you should take, both for your own safety and also the tools you might need.
An Introduction to Ammonites
Ammonites (Ammonitida) were shelled cephalopod molluscs that lived throughout the world’s oceans during the Mesozoic (Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods) and they were an extremely successful order, as evidenced by the frequency with which their […]
An Introduction to Belemnites
Belemnites (Belemnitida) were squid-like animals belonging to the cephalopod class of the mollusc phylum, and therefore related to ammonites of old, as well as to modern squids, octopuses and nautiluses. Now extinct, their fossils are […]
An Introduction to Ostracods
Ostracods are small, shelled crustaceans that are still living today. Their fossil record stretches back into the Cambrian period. These little animals range in size from below a millimetre to a few centimetres, but most […]
An Introduction to Foraminifera
Foraminifera (forams) are single celled organisms belonging to the Protista kingdom. Their fossils have been found in rocks from the Cambrian period onwards, and they are still living and abundant today. Forams generally inhabit marine […]
The Basics of Classification
When different types of fossils are talked or written about, they are often given complicated Latin names such as ‘Dactylioceras commune’, ‘Neohibolites minimus’ and ‘Stigmaria ficoides’. These names can sound a bit daunting and you […]
The Basics of Classification
When different types of fossils are talked or written about, they are often given complicated Latin names, such as Dactylioceras commune, Neohibolites minimus and Stigmaria ficoides. These names can sound a bit daunting and you […]
Stratigraphy and Stratigraphic Nomenclature
What is stratigraphy? The word ‘stratigraphy’ is used to describe the study of rock layers or strata. The most fundamental principals employed within this discipline are: The law of superposition, which states that, within any […]
Photographing Fossils
At UK Fossils, we receive hundreds of photos of fossils every month and, although we try our hardest to identify each and every find, most photos we receive are so blurred or contain no scale, […]
Labeling and Coding
Labelling and coding your collection is vital. Too often, museums acquire private collections and struggle to find data about each find. Basic information, such as the exact location, zone and formation are essential, together with […]
The Value of Books
There are two common questions by beginners and enthusiasts: “I’m new to fossil collecting, where can I collect?” and “I’ve found a fossil, what is it?” I’m blessed with owning SS Buckman’s Type Ammonites – […]
Extracting microfossils from flint
Flint meal is a rich source of siliceous microfossils. The material is often packed with sponge spicules, as well as foraminifera and ostracods. To collect flint meal unweathered, fresh flints recently eroded out of chalk […]
Extracting microfossils from Lower Chalk
Microfossils can be obtained from the Grey Chalk Subgroup (formerly the Lower Chalk, minus the Plenus Marls) with great ease. This rock has a high clay content in comparison with the whiter chalks and breaks […]
Directories of Societies
A comprehensive listing of societies and associations, both in the UK, and abroad, related to Palaentology, Geology and Minerals. National Amateur Geological Society (North London) British Geological Survey British Micromount Society Geological Society (The) Geologists’ […]
Geological Curators Group Database
Geological collections are an irreplaceable part of our scientific and cultural heritage. The Geological Curators’ Group is dedicated to their better care, maintenance and use. The Group aims to: improve access to, and knowledge of, […]
Sheppey Fossils
A comprehensive guide to the Early Eocene, Ypresian fossils of the London clay of the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, UK. The site covers an identification guide, coastal erosion, geology, and even the minerals. It is […]
Fossils of the Gault CLay
This site is dedicated to the fossils of the lower cretaceous Albian (Gault Clay and Folkestone Beds) in the county of Kent, south-east England. In particular the beautifully preserved faunas of the Gault Clay are […]
Deposits Magazine
The Magazine on Fossils, Geology & Minerals. Deposits is both a printed and online magazine featuring articles by high profile authors. Deposits is a full colour glossy 52 page high quality earth science magazine. It is […]
Discovering Fossils
Welcome to Discovering Fossils – a collection of online resources and guided fossil hunts that introduce the palaeontology of Great Britain. Written and designed by lifelong fossil enthusiast Roy Shepherd, the website documents the country’s […]
A Collection of Eocene and Oligocene Fossils
This Web Site displays more than 2,000 of the characteristic fossils of the Eocene and Oligocene deposits of England. It is hoped that this provides a useful resource for those wishing to identify their own […]
British Chalk Fossils
These pages are designed as a general guide for all those interested in the fascinating fossils of the British Chalk. Hopefully this will be a useful resource for academics and students alike, whilst at the […]
Waterloo Bay
Just outside of Larne town centre and north of Larne harbour, Co. Antrim is Waterloo Bay, where important exposures of Triassic and Jurassic rocks can be found, specifically the Waterloo Mudstone Formation, part of the Lias Group. Although the Triassic Penarth Group rocks are not particularly fossiliferous, the blue lias yields early Jurassic fossils including ammonites, belemnites and gryphaea. The cliffs and platforms are protected however many washed out loose fossils can be found. Jurassic, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
White Park Bay
Ten kilometres northwest of Ballycastle in Co. Antrim is White Park Bay. Successive layers of rock yield Mesozoic fossils including ammonites, belemnites and Gryphaea. However, the cliffs and platforms are protected, but many loose blocks containing fossils and some washed out fossils can be found. The beach is also known as one of the few places in the world to have “singing sand” – when conditions are right, the extremely fine sand vibrates to make a humming noise. The location is also known as a historic manufacturing hub for flint axes and arrow heads, due to the abundance of flint nodules found in the cliffs, with artefacts dating back as far as 8,000 BC. The landscape also features passage tombs looking out over the sea, where, on a clear day, the coast of Scotland can be seen.Cretaceous, Jurassic, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Portmarnock Beach (Non-UK)
North of Portmarnock, on the east coast of Ireland to the east of Dublin, is a short stretch of coastline with abundant exposures of Carboniferous rocks in foreshore platforms, containing beautifully preserved crinoids, bryozoans, bivalves, corals and brachiopods. The cliffs and platforms are protected, but many pebbles are washed out from the exposures along the coastline between Malahide and nearby Portmarnock.Carboniferous, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Malahide Beach (Non-UK)
To the east of Malahide town centre is a small beach on which it is easy to find loose carboniferous fossils and limestone pebbles containing beautifully preserved crinoids, bryozoans, bivalves, corals and brachiopods. The pebbles are washed out from exposures along the local coastline, including foreshore platforms found between Malahide and nearby Portmarnock.Carboniferous, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Hook Head (Non-UK)
Southeast of Waterford and southwest of Wexford is the Hook Head peninsula, which is remarkable for the abundant, beautifully preserved Carboniferous fossils, at its furthest reach by the Hook Lighthouse. The outcrops around Hook Head consist of abundant exposures of Lower Carboniferous rocks in foreshore platforms, containing beautifully preserved crinoids, bryozoans, bivalves, corals and brachiopods. The cliffs and platforms are protected, but many loose fragments can be found containing significant numbers of jumbled fossils of all types, with superbly preserved detail.Carboniferous, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
