Fossil Hunt 2.0

Today I decided spontaneous to visit the stone pit "Schümel" in Holderbank, Aargau. It has been a while since I was there the last time, I think it was in 2016 or so. It was my very first fossil hunt then and I had to learn how to look after fossils and where they are to find. Today it was much easier, because I knew exactly where I had to look. And I was very lucky and found some nice pieces! Read more under the cut!

"Schümel" is a former stone pit and now a refugium for rare animals and plants. It's a wildlife sanctuary but also a recreation area. The stone pit is surrounded by a forest and there are a lot of natural ponds. Children like to play there so I was there early in the morning - I don't need any watchers...

I saw a little ring snake in one of the ponds (with pray!) and also the biggest pollywogs I have ever seen in my life! Couldn't make any pictures of them because they were so shy! In "Schümel" you can also watch the rare Sphingonotus caerulans, a kind of grasshopper.

As I said, to find nice fossils is a matter of knowledge but also a matter of luck. I'd like to go on fossil hunts after heavy rain, because the water washes free new fossils. It's also a plus if you look at places where not everyone looks too. And, of course, you need luck. So, look at my loot!

Sorry, the newspaper is a bit irritating...
Okey, okey, 90% of it is junk. I will also show only the best pieces later in this blog entry. But why did I pick up so many shards? Well, there are some reasons:

- When you start to hunt you are hungry and you will pick up everything you find.
- You never know if this is the best you will find today.
- There's a lot of dirt on some fossils so you can't tell if it's something with value or not. That you will find out when you wash it at home.
- And I admit it, I'm a greedy bastard ^^"

I had a bucked around my hip (like a kangaroo pouch) so I had both hands free for grabbing and the fossils were safe in it. Very useful, I recommend it!

It's hard to imagine that this place was once a tropical sea. In "Schümel" you can find ammonites, shells and clams, sea plants, urchins and their quills. I always wanted to find an urchin and I think I did! It's in this stone. Sadly I don't have the tools nor the skills to bring it out of the stone.

Quill-shards of urchins.

I also wanted to find something big and beautiful and I did it too! Look at these wonderful and huge ammonite! It's in a wonderful condition! That's the best fossil I have ever found so far and I'm so happy about <3

Plant parts and impressions of plants. Very nice!

Clams and shells. Love the textures of the small ones <3

I found a place where I found a lot of small ammonites - it was like I found a gold vein! x3

Also here, I wish I had the tools and skills to bring it out of the stone.

And there were also some bigger parts of ammonites!

And what the heck are these!!??

And there was that strange looking stone. It has a funny texture and color, but I don't know if it's a fossil or not. Could anyone help? I tryed to do some proper photos, but the light wasn't that well today.

The last pic is the stone from behind. Seriously, I hope it's a bone xD

Well, visiting "Schümel" is always a little adventure, I feel like Indiana Jones when I'm digging in the mud x3 I will definitely go back again to that stone pit.