Messel Quarry in Germany
Rating: 8,0/10 (900 votes)  Messel quarry – an archaeological site where Eocene fossils were discovered. The quarry is located near the city of Frankfurt am Main. Numerous remains of early mammals and various living organisms have been found in the shale layers. There are a lot of them, the quarry is of particular scientific value and does not cease to be a place of active searches and excavations. This attracts not only scientists and archaeologists, but also ordinary tourists. In 1995, the quarry was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Since 1859, brown coal and later oil shale have been mined in this area. It gained fame among paleontologists at the beginning of the 20th century. However, large-scale excavations began to be carried out in the 70s, after the industry lost profitability here. It was planned to build a landfill here, but the plans were not realized: the local authorities bought the land for scientific research. In total, about ten thousand fossil remains of fish of various species, more than a thousand terrestrial and aquatic insects were found in the quarry , many birds, reptiles and amphibians, rodents, primates, artiodactyls, small mammals, plants and fruits.     We also recommend reading Maulbronn Monastery in Germany Topic: Messel Quarry in Germany. |
