Yesterday we made a trip over to the Warren just north of Folkestone in a quest to hunt for ancient cephalopods that are to be found in the Gault Clay. These clays are 113-97.5 million years old and date to the Albian period of the Lower Cretaceous when this part of Kent (and much of Northern France) lay under a shallow warm sea. They lie on top of Lower Greensand exposed to the south of the site at Folkestone itself and below the famous chalk cliffs that are exposed across the Kent coast, most famously at Dover. All three deposits contain ammonites though the preservation is by far the best in the clay.

To my shame I have not been there for over 18 months despite the site being just seven miles away but thought it would be worth a look after the winter rains. As you can see from the photographs, yesterday was pretty grey and murky and there was quite a wind blowing causing a choppy sea. Still, as the tide was in retreat we thought we would venture out and have a look. Luckily we both found something that made us glad we went.

The clay cliffs that dip onto the beach and are extremely fossiliferous, and I believe that the site is designated a site of special scientific interest making it illegal to excavate the clay itself. (Please note this if anyone intends going). Nonetheless, it is perfectly legal to collect fossils from the beach itself and this tends to be more productive than looking at the cliff itself. In fact, bivalves, fragments of ammonites and belemnite guards are so common that one only tends to collect them if they are exceptionally good quality; these days I leave 9/10 fossils on the beach! The beach itself is littered with remains in between the boulders and mixed up amongst clay outwash and shingle.

Here are a few photographs of the site itself and some of the fossils we found. The first three are to give an impression of the setting. The first view is northwards towards Dover and one can see the start of the chalk cliffs. The other shots are of the beach and the third picture of the Gault clay cliff itself.

Folkestone Warren looking North towards Dover. The sea is the English Channel; France lies approximately 30 miles away at this point.

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/Folkestone_setting.JPG

The beach.

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/FolkestoneBeach.JPG

The Gault clay is visible in the cliffs on the left. Fossils tend to be washed by rain and coastal action into the shingle in between the boulders visible on the beach.

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/Folkestone_clays.JPG

Here is a rather nice ammonite plucked from the surface of the clay. This is Anahoplites, a nice streamlined species with faint ribbing shown in situ. This example still has the original mother-of-pearl coating. It measures about 1.5cm across. Also here are two photos of a Nautilus I found, probably Eutrephoceras clementinum. I was quite pleased by this as Nautilus fossils are quite rare in this location, this is the first one I have ever found. This too has fragmentary coating of mother-of pearl though most of it has flaked off. It measures about the same size as the ammonite.

Anahoplites as found

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/Anahoplitesinsitu.JPG

Nautilus as found

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/Nautilusinsitu2.JPG

Nautilus close up

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/Nautilusinsitu.JPG

Here are photos of these and a few others we found cleaned up. The ammonite with the clear ribbing is a variation of Euhoplites, though I have yet to determine which one. The fact that it has these ridges probably meant that it may have been a poorer swimmer than the Anahoplites as it was less streamlined. Also shown here is a close up of the Anahoplites with a belemnite guard, Neohibolites sp.

Euhoplites

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/download.php?id=1996

Anahoplites and belemnite

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/download.php?id=1995

Nautilus

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/download.php?id=1997

Lastly, here’s a photo of these fossils put together along with a large belemnite guard Mandy found and, on the right, a really very nice specimen of Anahoplites she found, much nicer than my own! I will post a clearer picture of this ammonite in a close up when I next have the opportunity.

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/Folkestone_finds.JPG

As an addendum, I would be failing in my role here if I did not point out the following warning to anyone who wishes to visit the site:

It is extremely dangerous to climb in the cliffs and this should not be undertaken. Digging in the cliffs for fossils should not to be undertaken. Extreme caution must be adopted when collecting on the beach below the cliffs at Copt Point or elsewhere on the Folkestone section.

I know of at least one person who has been killed by a cliff fall in the area. Nonetheless, collection fom the beach is legal and safe providing adequate clothing and precautions have been taken. Ensure one has taken note of the tide tables and make sure you have taken along a mobile phone or high vis jacket. Anyway, enough heaviness for now! :)

:ammonite:

Absolutely amazing Phil!!!

must come and visit you one day :)

Fantastic Phil :!: :!:
Those look like great specimens.
7 miles away, no snow, I'd be there every day. :mrgreen:
:nautilus: :ammonite: :belemnit:

Very :cool:. I'd try to make at least a weekly trip.

WOW. :notworth:

I'm with TTF WOW :notworth: :shock:

J

Fantastic ! Thanks especially for the views of the cliff face...always nice to put a place with a piece !
Superb finds...must have been a great day...we are green with envy!
Greg

Wow is right! What a terrific day! Thanks for posting pictures of your great finds.

Melissa

Thanks everyone. I'm so glad I bought a digital camera; a picture paints a thousand words as they say. Images really do help bring sites to life.

Going fossil hunting is a complete lottery. Sometimes you can be lucky and sometimes come away with little. I have found larger and more spectacular ammonites than those two presented here before and other interesting finds, e.g crinoids, bivalves, crustacean fragments, scaphopods and fish teeth, for example, but never a nautilus. It's not knowing what lies under the next stone is the hook!

Ishmael,

didn't get to say it before but thanks for sharing and are you offering tours???? :P

With the fossils being so small, It must have taken quite sometime? Those are beautiful finds Phil, wish I lived near there.

cool, ive just learnt a few things there!! Nice one Phil.

BTW how far along the coast is the from Hythe?

BTW how far along the coast is the from Hythe?

Hythe is just down the coast from Folkestone, probably only about three miles or so. It's quite a nice quaint little town, with an interesting crypt in the church containing the bones of people who died in the Black Death (and earlier) stacked up into a walk-in ossuary. Well worth a visit if you are in the area. Do you know the area, Scouse?


Here is another picture of a more typical find, a larger but fragmented ammonite, probably Hoplites. Broken lumps like this are what one normally finds, I believe I left this one on the beach for someone else to collect.

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/Ammonite_fragment.JPG

Phil, excellent pictures! They are great!

Would you like to sleep here (http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/download.php?id=2017)?

Scary ghost sounds


:heee:

Would you like to sleep here (http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/download.php?id=2017)?



Yeah, I'd give it a shot, no problem. I used to be an archaeologist and have excavated Anglo-Saxon graves before, so they are just bones to me!I believe the occasional local scout group may have stayed in there to raise money for charity.

It's a small crypt, probably not much larger than a garage located under the parish church. The skulls of about 4000 people are stacked up in two masses, along with numerous leg and arm bones. The bodies date from about 900-1500AD though there is a concentration around the time of the Black Death (1349-50) when approximately 1/3 of the population of Britain succumbed to the disease and died. It is quite creepy, granted, and some of the skulls show quite a story. Some are, sadly, of children and some of the others are deformed. One can learn a lot about diet from examination of the teeth of these people. Interesting place.

It's no worse than some of the sites of the Anasazi in the Southwest and the bones with evidence of cannibalism.
I bet that Scout troupe had LOTS :shock: of junk food all night...

Well, I've now soaked the ammonite and nautilus fossils in water for a couple of weeks so as to remove the salts. If they were just left as they were without doing this the salts would slowly dissolve and disintegrate them, after a year or so all one would be left with would be rocky fluff. (Hard to describe and I've learned this from bitter experience). In addition, as the fossils are heavily pyritised I have given them a coat of satin varnish which helps prevent oxygen from reaching the shell and accelerating decay.

Finally, I have made up protective boxes with an explanatory label containing the species type, age and location and they are ready to be added to the collection. Methinks I'm going to need a bigger house soon!

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/AmmonitesCleaned.JPG



http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/Ammonite_Collection1.JPG

Here's a close up of the last picture:

8) 8) 8)

:mrgreen: <-- that's me green with envy

Wow.

More envy from me... :mrgreen:

Man, that's impressive.

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

(I'm even more envious than those other guys. :mrgreen:)

Phil, these photos are great. :notworth: Are there tours of the museum?

What is in the jar just behind the drawers? Is that a beak? Beaks?

Melissa

Are there tours of the museum?

What is in the jar just behind the drawers? Is that a beak? Beaks?



Thanks everyone for the kind words! I'm afraid I did not find all of those specimens, (a few were excavated on e-bay) but to my mind finding a small inferior specimen is still much more exciting than buying a stunner. This may sound strange but in my opinion one has a personal connection with things you find, whether they be a fossil, an ancient piece of pottery, an old coin, shrapnel or whatever. I don't mean that in a hippy sense, but in the sense that you are the first person to ever see that fossil, or the first person to see and touch an old coin since it was dropped. It's hard to explain unless you have actually done this yourself....

Are there tours of the museum?

Sure pop on by...it would be nice to show some of this stuff to anyone interested. None of this stuff is museum quality but I like these things purely because they are interesting!

What is in the jar just behind the drawers? Is that a beak? Beaks?

Could be....'tis a secret!!!!! It's actually a jar of picked onions. I had a salad for tea tonight and failed to clear my table up before taking the picture. :heee:

I've got a drawer full of trilobites, Cambrian weirdness, echinoderms, eurypterid fragments, a couple of fossil fish, clay pipes and a small collection of WW2 militaria too...but I didn't think anyone would be interested in those. :? Alas, no type-specimens from the Beagle, I'm afraid and none of it is of any monetary value. Should I be admitting this in public?

I kinda wouldn't mind a closer look at some trilobites, Cambrian weirdness, echinoderms, eurypterid fragments, a couple of fossil fish, clay pipes and a small collection of WW2 militaria. Especially the first five of those.

Great collection Phil :D My fossils sit in cardboard trays in the basement, probably got more dust on them now than when they were out in the desert.

I agree about finding your own, they may not be as nice as the ones in the Ebay formations, but the hunt to me is 99% of the fun. I got out on the desert this weekend, but couldnt quite get where I wanted to go (damn snow), almost got stuck in the mud, (why do they call it a desert?)didnt even get to look for fossils, but it was a great day anyway.

It's actually a jar of picked onions. I had a salad for tea tonight and failed to clear my table up before taking the picture.

Pickled Onions were a staple of the Ammonites. In fact, current research shows they couldn't have survived the Jurassic without them. :grad:

Here is a close up of the cleaned up specimen of the ammonite Anahoplites, somewhat blurry in the photo above. It would have been coated in mother-of-pearl, a pity it has flaked off in this specimen.

Family: HOPLITIDAE
Subfamily: ANAHOPLITINAE
Species: Anahoplites planus
Measurement : Diameter 40mm
Albian Stage: Middle Albian (105 million years old)

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/download.php?id=2259

(Thanks for the loan Mandy, if you read this!)

They look well cool Phil :)

Intrestin in what you say about drawing out the salts. Do you put them through a series of soakings or do you just drop them in some water and leave them for a few days?

In answer to your question, I dont know the area too well, Ive mates from there and went to visit Hythe and Cambersands for the weekend last year. Had a crackin time!!

Hi Scouse,

The trouble with the fossils that are preserved in clay is that many of them are preserved in iron pyrites that is inherently instable when exposed to air. Prolonged exposure to oxygen without some form of protection from lacquer or varnish will lead to a creeping decay and slow disintegration. One can’t just wash them and leave them unfortunately. I tend to leave any fossils to soak for a week or so in fresh water which should be enough time to remove the salts which also accelerate decay. One can usually tell when this is happening, as tiny bubbles tend to form on the surface of the fossils, after a few days this ceases. Then I leave them to dry, varnish them with a Humbrol modelling Satin varnish and mount them in display boxes, with a label. This keeps the fossil in a sealed environment and prevents it from being knocked about and damaged. (If has an alternative method of preservation of such pyrites fossils I would like to hear from you). Not all the material from Folkestone is preserved in this way; I think the material from the earlier Lower Greensand can be left untreated.

I went back over yesterday and here’s a photo of my haul soaking. I’ll print a few better pictures in a few days if anyone wants to see them. In the old ice cream tub we have the usual ammonites Anahoplites planus, Hysteroceras orbignyi, Euhoplites ihavenotdecidedyet, a gastropod, Gyrodes and a bivalve, Birostrina. The large spiky ammonite on the top right is Euhoplites armatus, a first for me. You can tell that some of these specimens have a high iron pyrites content from the browny-reddish-yellow colour, in short the fossil is rusty!

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/Folkestone230304finds.JPG

Looks like you had a great day collecting fossils again Phil 8)

I sometimes use VINAC (Vinyl Acetate) to coat fossils, it comes in small beads that you soak in acetone, You can mix it to whatever strength you want. Not many of the fossils around here are pyritized, so I havent had to worry about that much, so I cant help you there.

cool, cool, and again, cool ! :notworth:

spot on!!! nice on Phil, really intrestin!!! somebody said to me the other day they fancied goin fossil huntin, bizarre!!! So were off on one at some point, will record any finds!!!

My mate has an amazin Nautilus shall with mother of pearl still on it on his shelf, think his mum got it from a Thailand market or somewhere recently will post a pic when i get chance!!!

That's great Scouse. Look forward to seeing your Nautilus and (hopefully) some finds. If you would like some ideas on where to go in the UK, this is a fantastic website:

http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/

By the way, not all the cephalopods at Folkestone are of the extinct rocky variety. Have a guess what this is! (clue)= :cuttle:

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/files/Cuttlebone230304.JPG

Nice one Phil!!! Will have a gander at that an let you know how we get on!!

I dodnt have the foggiest until i spotted the name of the pic....a Cuttle bone ha haa!!! Me old budgy would have gone nuts for it!!! :lol: :D