giant ammonites, flying reptiles and dinosaurs
This coastline is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is infamous for its fossil finds.
Stretching from Exmouth in Devon through Lyme Bay and East to Old Harry Rocks, Swanage, in Dorset, is one of the most complete sequences through the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods of geological time anywhere in the world.
The reason for this is simple, the overall dip of the rocks is gently to the east and this brings successively younger rocks to sea level along the coast with the oldest in the west and the youngest to the east.
The cliffs of West Dorset are formed from rocks of Lower Jurassic age and are capped by younger sandstone of Cretaceous age that give Golden Cap its cap.
Fossils
are easy to findBetween Seaton and Lyme Regis, the Triassic rocks disappear below the sea and the oldest Jurassic rocks, thick clays and thin limestone of the 'Lias', form the cliffs. These rocks were deposited in a moderately deep tropical sea that was packed with marine life and as a result fossils are very common. Some, such as pencil shaped belemnites and coiled ammonites, are easy to find but others, like ichthyosaurs (marine reptiles) and fish are far rarer. The rocks also contain evidence of life on the land in the form of fossil wood, insects and even dinosaurs that were washed into the sea some 200 million years ago.
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A new species of Ichthyosaur was found below Golden Cap in 1995. Despite over two hundred years of collecting, remains new to science continue to be discovered each year.
You never know what is out there waiting to be found
People have been collecting fossils for at least the last two hundred and fifty years, the most famous being Mary Anning who was born in Lyme in 1799. She extracted the first complete ichthyosaur, plesiosaur and the finest flying reptile among many other significant finds. But even today, collectors continue to make new discoveries; indeed one of the great attractions about collecting is that you never know what is out there waiting to be found.
Giant ammonites can be found on Monmouth Beach, just east of Lyme. They are far too large to extract and attempts to do so only lead to damage. They are best left where they are for all to enjoy and photograph.
The rocks around Lyme Regis and Charmouth are famous for fossilised remains such as this beautiful fish that lived in a tropical sea that once covered the area in the early Jurassic period.
Advice on Fossil Hunting
If you do want to try your luck at collecting, there are some very important points to bear in mind.
1.
The best and safest time to collect is when the tide is going out. The tide floods the beach just east of Lyme shortly after low tide so always aim to pass this point around low tide.
2.
The cliffs are dangerous and prone to cliff falls at any time while the landslides contain treacherous mudflows so stay well clear.
3.
The very best place to look is on the beach below the landslides
4.
Monmouth Beach, just west of the famous harbour, the Cobb, contains huge ammonites. They are impossible to collect but if you cannot find any fossils elsewhere, at least you can take a picture of some home to show your friends.
If you are still desperate to find fossils, come back in the depths of winter!
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