Fossil Coast Drinks is pleased to introduce Steve Snowball as a guest blogger who has been sharing his knowledge, experience and expertise in a series of blogs about fossil hunting including Highcliffe Beach near Christchurch in Dorset. Steve is an accomplished author of A Guide to Fossil Collecting in England & Wales and co-author of a series of four other highly-acclaimed guides to fossil collecting on the Dorset coast.
For those who like a day out on a nice sandy beach, whilst the kids look for fossils, this location is ideal. The rocks here are of Eocene Age and comprise those of the Highcliffe Member of the Barton Clay, of approximately 40 million years ago. Once bathed in tropical sunshine, the site is famous for its exotic shells (particularly ornate gastropods) and shark teeth which can be found here.
Over 600 species of gastropods and bivalves, some very large, can be found along the line of low cliffs that straddle the beach and although climbing the cliffs is certainly not recommended, the slippages are often crammed with shells, especially after rain fall where they are washed out of the clay.
A variety of shark teeth and gastropod shells found at Highcliffe Beach
The cliffs can be quite dangerous, so younger children are best supervised. However, shark teeth can be found in the shingle on the foreshore. These teeth are a regular find and the beds from which they originate also contain bones and turtle carapace. Fossil shark teeth are best found on a low tide, scattered across the beach and a leisurely walk along the shoreline should get results.
Park up at the large car park by the Cliffhanger Restaurant, at Waterford Rd, Highcliffe BH23 5JA. Then walk down the concrete slipway down to the beach. It gets very busy down here in the height of summer but fossils can be found in all seasons, although their frequency increases during the winter months, when inclement weather and fewer tourists are present.
Examine the base of the cliff for shells. They can simply be picked up or gently prised out of the clay. They resemble modern tropical shells and it’s hard to imagine that they are fossils. If you have young children it will be best to ensure that they stay on the beach level, whilst examining the cliffs.
If you’re lucky, the gastropod, Cornulina minas is found here along with the more common gastropods such as Typhus pungens and the long spiralled shells of Haustator editus - as shown below.
Left: Cornulina minas | Centre: Typhus pungens | Right: Haustator editus
The Barton Formation at approximately 36 million years old is from the Bartonian Age of the Upper Eocene and is part of the Hampshire Basin. The clays tend to be very sandy in the lower part, with dark sandy clays with stiff drab clays in the middle part and light coloured clayey sands in the higher part.
Some of the shells can be fragile, so bring lots of tissue paper to wrap them with or use Tupperware boxes. In most cases, all you need is a good eye, as most of them can be picked off the foreshore or surface of the clay without too much work. However, a trowel or knife does come in handy.
The Barton Clay Formation exposed in the cliffs between Highcliffe and Barton on Sea was deposited at the bottom of a warm (>22°C / 72°F) shallow marginal/shelf sea, relatively close to land, during the Bartonian Stage of the Eocene Epoch, approximately 40.4 – 38.9 million years ago. At this time southern Britain lay 40°N of the equator (11° south of its current latitude), equivalent to the present-day latitude of Spain.
With the large volume of shell material available, identification of your finds can often be difficult. A Collection of Eocene and Oligocene Fossils has been compiled by Dr Alan Morton PhD BSc ARCS and provides a comprehensive webpage guide to the fossils of the Eocene and Oligocene deposits of England, including the Barton Beds. It is provided as a visual resource for those wishing to identify their own fossils and is a wonderful reference resource.
About Guest Blogger - Steve Snowball
Steve Snowball spent a total of 35 years working in education; initially as a teacher, then as a headteacher and finally as an education advisor in West Sussex. He retired to live on the Jurassic Coast of West Dorset, where he was able to pursue his keen interest in collecting fossils and spending time walking his dogs, enjoying landscape photography, oil painting and gardening. Steve is the author of ‘A Guide to Fossil Collecting in England & Wales’ and co-author of a series of four other highly-acclaimed guides to fossil collecting on the Dorset coast, all published by Siri Scientific Press.