The new „FossilPit“ and a few snail finds.

On 5 April, the "FossilPit" was opened in Twistringen, 30 km south of Bremen. Visitors can now collect snails, bivalves and shark teeth from the Miocene. At the well-attended opening event, the Geosciences Collection was introduced as the body responsible for the palaeontological preservation of archaeological monuments, acting as an official assistant to the Geozentrum Hannover.

Special finds are examined for their significance and, if necessary, classified as movable palaeontological monuments. Clay from the Miocene period had been mined in this small town in Lower Saxony since 1806, but this finally came to an end in 1992. The members of the Twistringen Citizens´ and Local History Association had been planning for a long time, also with the active support of the department, and a small fossil exhibition has been on display in the local straw museum since 2007. Last year, a further step was taken towards making this geoscientific topic accessible to the public. As a result, a collection centre was set up at the location known as the "FossilPit". Due to the weather, however, it has only just been opened. It includes the reinforcement of the paths in the former clay pit, excellent signposting with many explanatory panels, a shelter in the pit, a facility for washing fossils and equipment. Even a small training centre already exists and the department is involved in further optimisation, including for use by school classes.

From now on, fossil collectors are called upon to report finds that they consider to be unusual to the Geosciences Collection. Larger and articulated finds in particular, such as whale skeletons, fall under the regulations for the preservation of palaeontological monuments and would then be recovered by the collection as part of a scientific excavation.

Further information:

Prof. Dr. Jens Lehmann