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What is a fossil?
Fossils are the remains of ancient animals and plants. They are preserved in rocks such as shale, limestone, clay and more rarely sandstone, which were laid down underwater, where the organic material was replaced by mineral such as calcite.
Barton Beds are seen
in the cliffs between Highcliffe and Barton-on-Sea, were laid
down
approximately
40 million years ago. These are mainly grey clays, more sandy towards the
top, and they form very boggy tumbled cliffs. This is one of the muddiest places
to fossil hunt, as shown by the frequent occurrence of lost boots, high
tide can also be an inconvenience. Most conspicuous are the molluscs especially
the gastropods and after storms, fossil teeth are frequently found in the
shingle.
