Fossil Hunting
I felt I couldn't close the chapter on our trip to the Isle of Wight without mentioning our attempts at fossil hunting.
The Isle of Wight is the richest source of dinosaur remains in Europe. Around 125 million years ago, this coast was a series of muddy lagoons. Dinosaurs left their footprints in the mud and sometimes, when they died, their bones became fossilised.
When the sea water and strong waves erode the soft cliffs around Compton Bay, dinosaur remains often fall down onto the beach. So far, fossils from over 20 different species of dinosaur have been found, some of them unique to this area. (National Trust)
Brook Bay and Compton Bay are hot spots for fossil hunters, but I have to admit that David and I twice walked the beaches without definitely identifying any fossils. It would have helped if we had looked up what we might find beforehand, preparation is everything!
Obviously we would be able to identify an ammonite if we found one, and possibly a dinosaur tooth, but beyond that it's tricky if you're not sure what you are searching for. I picked up something that looked like it could have been a dinosaur's vertebrae, but subsequent research suggested it was the wrong colour ... just an unusual shaped stone.
A dinosaur footprint
And then there's the dinosaur footprints ...
There are large three-toed iguanodon foot casts at the base of the cliffs just to the east of Compton Bay car park at Hanover Point. At 30-60cm across, they’re hard to miss. (National Trust)
Well, we managed to miss them! To be fair the tide was too high on one visit, and on the other we couldn't find anything that we could definitely say was a dinosaur footprint, the seaweed on the rocks doesn't help!
The wrong state of the tide to be looking for dinosaur footprints, but note the evidence of recent cliff falls beside David. Ironically, it may be the case that as new fossils are revealed, those on the beach become buried. There was, however, a small success to report ...
8,000 years old - Semi-fossilised hazelnuts
The layers of gravel at the top of Compton cliffs were deposited by a river that meandered towards Freshwater Bay. Occasionally, pieces of semi-fossilised wood can be seen. They would have fallen into the riverbed ... You can sometimes find semi-fossilised hazelnuts (known locally as ‘Noah’s nuts’) on the beach ... These come from the same layer of gravel as the semi-fossilised wood and would have been dropped into the river around the same time. (National Trust)
... Nobby found some nuts! In fact there were a lot of them in a recent cliff fall in Brook Bay. I had seen these previously on a television programme featuring Kate Humble and a local expert, so I was delighted to find some for myself. I have to say, David seemed distinctly underwhelmed.
We weren't really serious about the fossil hunting, we just went for an enjoyable walk along the beaches and cliff tops, so we weren't desperately disappointed by our lack of success. However, if you are keen on fossils, it's a great place to visit, and you can go on guided walks with someone who actually knows what they are looking for! Click on the links below for more information.
Noah's Nuts
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