FOSSIL HUNTING BY REGION
Hampshire is best known for its Eocene fossil sites, particularly at Barton-on-Sea, where the Barton Beds yield a wide range of marine fossils. Sharks’ teeth are commonly found on the foreshore, along with a diverse and well-preserved assemblage of molluscs.
Nearby Taddiford Gap is another productive location, known for sharks’ teeth as well as mammal and crocodile remains, often found within a thin fossil-rich layer suitable for sieving. These deposits can also produce a variety of microfossils.
Milford-on-Sea is notable for fossil seeds, while the cliffs at Lepe and Brownwich provide access to Pleistocene deposits, where mammal remains can occasionally be found.
8 location guides
8 locations
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Barton-on-Sea is one of the UK’s most famous Eocene fossil sites, with the Barton Clay yielding hundreds of species of shells, particularly gastropods. The foreshore regularly produces shark teeth, fish remains…
Read the guide →Beckton Bunny reveals the upper Barton succession and its transition into the freshwater and brackish Headon Hill Formation. Shells are generally more scattered and broken than farther west at Barton on…
Read the guide →Brownwich Cliff and the adjoining Chilling reach show Eocene marine sediment beneath Pleistocene river gravels and brickearth. Bivalve and gastropod moulds occur in sandy sediment and hard cemented blocks. The terrace…
Read the guide →Latchmoor Brook, usually spelt Latchmore in geological literature, exposes the Bracklesham–Barton transition in the New Forest’s Studley Wood stream sections. Shells, nummulites and fish remains make it scientifically important, but this…
Read the guide →An easily accessible location, perfect for families and children to search for fossil shark teeth and shells along the shingle foreshore. The fossils, dating back 34 million years to the Eocene…
Read the guide →At Lepe, the Stone Point interglacial deposits preserve evidence of elephants, plants and a changing river–estuary environment. Older Eocene bedrock and fossil-bearing imported sea-defence blocks tell separate stories. Sand cover, tides…
Read the guide →Milford on Sea is noted for fossil aquatic fruits and seeds in the Eocene Headon Hill Formation around Paddy’s Gap. Fragile freshwater shells and shell-bearing ironstone also occur. Exposure changes with…
Read the guide →Taddiford Gap and Hordle Cliff are a classic late Eocene vertebrate and plant locality. The Totland Bay Member contains distinct Mammal, Crocodile, Leaf, Chara and Rodent horizons, whose fossil records depend…
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