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Here's part of the prep work of an ichthyosaur skull I found a few years ago on the Jurassic Coast.

Many of the fossils found here on the coast are preserved in hard limestone, but this one was in a soft layer. This allowed me to do much of the prep work using nothing but a scalpel. You have to do this quickly though, while the soft shale is still wet. Once it dries out, it hardens much like cement. Once dry and hard, you need more powerful tools to do the job. So, as with much of fossil hunting and prepping, it's a race against time!

#fossil #fossils #geology #rock #rocks #history #ancient #dinosaur #Jurassic #jurassiccoast #Dorset #beach #fossilhunting #collecting #hobby #discovery #adventure #nature #wildlife #find #ichthyosaur #ichthy #bone #bones #dino #mineral #minerals

A time lapse of the prep work of a giant Asteroceras obtusum ammonite I found on the Jurassic Coast.

This took around 24 hours of work using pneumatic tools to slowly remove the rock from around the ammonite on both sides while sculpting the remaining rock matrix. The end result is a natural piece of art!

These large Asteroceras ammonites are rare, and finding one is a real buzz! But finding it is only half the battle. Prepping it takes patience, dedication, the right tools, and a very steady hand!

#fossil #fossils #geology #rock #rocks #history #ancient #dinosaur #Jurassic #jurassiccoast #Dorset #beach #fossilhunting #collecting #hobby #discovery #adventure #nature #wildlife #find #ammonites #ammonite #shell #shells #crystal #mineral #crystals #minerals

The most INCREDIBLE weekend - overwhelming in all the best possible ways, and most importantly, filled with LOVE 😍

I can’t wait to share more from these three days (the animals! The outfits! The venue! The people!), but for now, I’m just going to leave this here 🥹

🎥 @_livvid_

We did it!! 💍

09.05.26

Check out the colours on this beauty. These iridescent ammonites can show all the colours of the rainbow. The colours change as the viewing angle changes thanks to the refraction of light as it passes through and bounces off the thin layers of shell, that are made of the mineral calcite.

Nature and art coming together!

#fossil #fossils #ammonite #fossilhunting #ammolite

Here's another time lapse of some prep work on an ichthyosaur from the Jurassic Coast of the UK. This is the rear limb (paddle) of the animal that was embedded in soft limestone.

The bones in these limbs are tiny and delicate, so careful prep work is needed to reveal them.

#geology #ichthyosaur #fossil #fossilhunting # jurassiccoast

Here's an update on the ichthyosaur I've been prepping recently. I've removed the harder shale matrix that was covering some of the jaw and eye socket, revealing the detail beneath. This includes the delicate sclerotic ring of bone that was inside the eyeball itself in life.

The detail in this skull is phenomenal, about as good as it gets! The teeth are particularly well preserved and intricate. I've started prepping the body of this animal, and will reunite it with its skull.

#ichthyosaur #fossil #fossils #jurassiccoast #fossilhunting

Here's a quick time lapse of some air abrasive work I carried out the reveal the front limb (paddle) of the ichthyosaur I've been preparing recently. These tools are new to me but have opened up a while new world of fossil prep!

I'm using bicarb as a powder, which is blasted via compressed air through the machine. Because this powder has a low hardness, it removes the soft shale that is stuck to the bones without damaging the bones themselves. It's very satisfying work! There's plenty more to do on this fossil, but it's getting there.

A big shout out to @naturalselectionfossils for helping me get the abrasive set up!

#ammonites #ichthyosaur #fossil #fossilhunting # jurassiccoast

Current prep job! I've been slack on here recently as I've been upgrading my workshop to allow me to install some cool new tools I needed to move to the next level of fossil prepping.

First fossil off the block is this ichthyosaur skull I found many years ago but didn't have the right tools to prep. I've got to remove some more matrix from the back of the skull and eye socket, but it's nearly there. I've also got much of the body of this specimen, which will be next on the prep list. The start of an exciting new chapter in my fossil hunting journey! I'll keep you posted as it progresses.

#fossil #fossils #jurassiccoast #fossilhunting #ichthyosaur

It's not just the beaches in Dorset that yield fossils. While walking the dog on the hills near the coast I spotted a collapsed wall with a surprise in it...
#fossil #fossils #jurassiccoast #fossilhunting #dorset

A little treasure the beach delivered a couple of months ago on the Jurassic Coast at Charmouth. After a small cliff fall and some rough seas, these beautiful pyrite ammonites were just waiting to be found. You have to get to then quickly though, they don't last long in rough seas!
#fossil #fossils #jurassiccoast #fossilhunting #dorset

A nice split on this ammonite from the Middle Jurassic Inferior Oolite of Dorset. Not all fossils can be split apart from their rock matrix like this. The rock they're preserved in needs to have the right composition.

If the rock and the fossil have very similar composition, the fossil itself may split rather than the surrounding rock. With some ammonites, the shell provides a weak point around which the rock breaks when hit just right.

#fossil #fossils #ammonite ##ammonites #jurassiccoast