Fossil Hunting
We are extremely lucky at Fort Victoria to have an abundance of fossilised remains on our shores. Remnants from when this stretch of the solent was an eocene swamp inhabited by Turtles and Crocodiles. The sheer number of these must have been huge as fossilised remains are always being washed up on the shore and found in amongst the gravel.
Eocene Swamp
32 Million years ago the area was a shallow lagoon that extended into the new forest and along to poole, this huge tropical area was home to many Turtles and Crocodilians, we have a depiction of what that may have looked like in the gift shop of the Reptilarium, This huge wall mural was painted by local artist Tony Trowbridge as part of his Fossil art Trail, you can see similar style works accross the Island.
Where to look for Fossils at Fort Victoria.
You first need to head west along our natural shoreline, if you are looking out to sea in front of the fort, go left. Slowly walk along the intertidal zone, where the highest point of the tide deposits all of its freshly washed up gravel and stones, like in the picture, you will notice a line of gravel running along the beach. It is in amongst these stones you will find fossils.
What to look for.
Before you start have a look in the visitors room to see examples of what you can find.
Soft Shelled Turtle
You are most likely to find pieces of shell like this one which belonged to a smooth shelled turtle, the ridged flat face was covered by a thick leathery skin. The tell tale sign that its a fossilised bone is the honey comb texture you can see on the side.
Hard shelled Turtle
You are also likely to find fragments such as this one in amongst the shingle. Notice on the smooth side there are visible "Scutes", these are the segments of shell and also the honeycomb structure to the sides. These turtles would have looked very much like the pond terrapins we have in the Reptilarium.