Fossils in Carry-on luggage (Germany - UK)

[Laura.A.S]

I will be travelling to Germany for business but while there I will also go collecting in the Holzmaden quarries, I was wondering whether anyone has any experience flying from Germany (Stuttgart) to the UK (Manchester) with self collected fossils in their carry-on bag? Does anyone know if they will confiscate these or just ignore them?

Thanks in advance!

[thelivingdead531]

Not the exact same situation but I flew from the US to UK with fossils in my carry on and no one said a thing. Hopefully someone else has had the experience you're looking for though! Good luck! 

[Nimravis]

When I backpack in the US, I always pick up a few rocks, not very large, just big enough to write the location and date on. The last time I did this, I was stopped in California and they removed them from my carry on stating that they could be used as a weapon. Be prepared for that- I say pack them in non-carry on or mail them, just in case.

[connorp]

12 minutes ago, Nimravis said:

Be prepared for that- I say pack them in non-carry on or mail them, just in case.

Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but how do you mail yourself something while traveling? Do you just put your mailing address as the return address as well? Seems like that wouldn't be allowed, but maybe I'm wrong.

[Nimravis]

8 minutes ago, connorp said:

Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but how do you mail yourself something while traveling? Do you just put your mailing address as the return address as well? Seems like that wouldn't be allowed, but maybe I'm wrong.

Well if it was me, and I was overseas, I would put the address of the place that I was staying, even if it was a hotel and make sure that my home address and all custom forms are filled out correctly and then mail it. If I was in the US, I would not see a problem with putting the Hotel address on it. Again, if it did not fit in the "checked in" luggage I would do it the above way or not buy fossils because I would not want them taken at the airport. Lastly, I mail so many packages, I cannot recall the post office person looking at my home address, and sometimes the package was small and my address was not on the same side. 

[jpc]

I have carried fossils on board many times.  And I have had two taken away.  Both were fairly large and 'could be used as weapons'.  One in Cleveland and one in Toulouse.  Smaller fossils seem to be OK, but Holzmaden is not a small fossil place.  You will find large slabs with ammonites and want to take them home.  If you have a check-in bag, put them in there.  If not, send them home via DeutschePost, which can be expensive... 100 USD for a small box.  

[HamptonsDoc]

I fly home from the Tucson show every year with fossils in my carry on. I get there early and tell security I have fossils in my bag before they even scan it. I’m normally taken aside and they go through everything but I have never had a problem. 

[digit]

It really depends on the security person you get at the airport. Unfortunately, traveling with 'rocks' is not an everyday occurrence for them and so they don't seem to have specific training for it (like they do for bottles of water or lithium batteries). When my roll-on suitcase is going through the X-ray machine I usually mention to the person monitoring the screens that the suitcase contains fossils. I expect to get pulled aside for the micro-chemical 'sniff' test where they open the case and swab around with a piece of paper before putting it into the machine to test for trace amounts of chemicals used in explosives. I understand that a suitcase packed with rocks or slabs that inhibit a reasonable view on X-ray would want to be inspected using alternate means so the extra attention does not bother me. I usually plan an extra few minutes in my schedule to account for this delay.

 

Back in 2006 I went through the Salt Lake City, UT airport with a 2 roll-ons packed to the gills with fish slabs from the Green River Formation in Kemmerer, WY. The X-ray operator looked up from his screens and asked me if I was perhaps a tile salesman (traveling with samples). I told him I'd been to a place called Kemmerer and he replied before I could continue with, "Oh, fish fossils! Looks like you did good."

 

More recently Tammy and I made a rockhounding/fossiling trip through Wyoming. We collected lots of rocks for the tumbler and other fossils that could stand the return flight packed among dirty clothes in suitcases. Thankfully, Southwest still allows 2 free suitcases up to 50 pounds (22 kg) and with the help of a digital luggage scale, I maxed those out to within ounces of their limits. More fragile fossils like some fish plates and dinosaur bones (thanks to @jpc) went in a separate roll-on suitcase. This time the security agent went as far as to unwrap a few specimens from the newspaper that I had used as packing material while swabbing for explosives. He was interested in the finds and agreed that I had the most interesting suitcase he'd see during his shift. Again, no explosives, no problem. Never was questioned about the ability to weaponize a fossil fish slab.

 

I now always let security know what is coming through on the X-ray belt to they can consider that while scanning the suitcase. I expect to always get pulled aside (and I generally always get what I expect). Has never yet (knock on wood) been an issue if you let them know ahead of time why you are traveling with such things. It might seem odd to a security person that someone would choose to travel with heavy rocks in their carry on. If you let them know that you went fossil hunting while traveling and chose to keep your fragile fossils where you can see them rather than trusting them to checked luggage, they may understand why you have a 22 kg suitcase and that you are just a fossil collector and not the world's most inept terrorist.

 

Usually, if they refuse to let you carry something on the plane that is not specifically a weapon but still not something they wish to allow, you have the option of going back to the check-in counter and tagging it as luggage. You may wish to pack and pad your fossils well in case you have to fall back on this option. Usually, too late to think of the shipping option once you are already at the airport. If you are there on business and have contacts in country (and a lot of extra time before your flight), you might be able to call someone locally and hand-off your "paleo weapon" so that someone may mail it to you or keep it till your next visit.

 

Hope your hinting in Holzmaden is successful and your trip between countries is uneventful. Assuming you find some nice fossils and make it back home safely with them, we'll be eager to see them here.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Pemphix]

You need to have some things in mind:

- UK will not be part of EU by end of January. I would expect changes to some custom laws as well...

- Germany has a new cultural heritage law.

- The Holzmaden-Area is furthermore marked as a non-digging heritage area since 1979. Digging for collectors/non-authorized people is allowed only at special points (two pay-to-dig quarrys) which are permanent watched by authorized personal, having a look of what you've found. Pieces of scientific interest you need to hand-over to them (Treasure-Trove-Law Baden-Württemberg).

http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/kgsg/ (English Version available, free Access)

https://www.bundesregierung.de/resource/blob/992814/732744/ad279cb0809a01f9457ec9d6feaf7f7d/kulturgutschutz-im-ueberblick-download-bkm-data.pdf?download=1

http://www.kulturgutschutz-deutschland.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/HandreichungKGSG.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2

https://www.steinkern.de/fundorte/baden-wuerttemberg/150-holzmaden-einige-infos-fuer-nicht-einheimische.html

[digit]

All very good points.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Laura.A.S]

Thanks for the advice! I guess it really depends on who you get at security, but good idea to mention them before hand. If needs be I will probably pay for a hold bag then, seems like the best option if they pull you up on it. 

[Laura.A.S]

On 1/29/2020 at 2:57 PM, Pemphix said:

- The Holzmaden-Area is furthermore marked as a non-digging heritage area since 1979. Digging for collectors/non-authorized people is allowed only at special points (two pay-to-dig quarrys) which are permanent watched by authorized personal, having a look of what you've found. Pieces of scientific interest you need to hand-over to them (Treasure-Trove-Law Baden-Württemberg). 

Yeah I am aware of its importance. I am having to visiting the Urweltmuseum there so thought I might as well visit the public quarry nearby, so it shouldn't be an issue about collecting. 

[Tidgy's Dad]

On 1/29/2020 at 2:57 PM, Pemphix said:

You need to have some things in mind:

- UK will not be part of EU by end of January. I would expect changes to some custom laws as well...

Regarding Brexit, there is an eleven month transition period and during this time, customs laws and entry and exit requirements will remain unchanged. 

[Laura.A.S]

On 1/29/2020 at 2:48 PM, digit said:

Assuming you find some nice fossils and make it back home safely with them, we'll be eager to see them here.

Ah yes, I will try my best to remember! 

[thelivingdead531]

Digit’s post actually reminded me of a funny story that I thought I would share. Early last year my son and I were traveling from Stansted airport in London to Edinburgh. I put all of our belongings in the trays for the X-ray scanner and the bin with my purse was pulled aside, as I was too. The agent was asking if I had any liquids in my purse because it showed on the scanner that there was a liquid in there. I told him I was sure there wasn’t, unless I had forgotten something small (it was a really small purse) and I was sorry if I had. So he asks if he could dump it out to check and, of course, I said yes (like I have any other choice lol). It turns out that there was a mineral/gemstone that my son had bought in Belfast the month before and I forgot to take it out, and those types of things look like liquids on the X-ray screens. Thankfully we both had a good laugh and I was sent on my way.