Lower Callovian, Bov Fm, NW Bulgaria

[Dimitris]

Hello everyone!

Like most Europe, here in Bulgaria the winter is also very warm.

Today we had 16C with totally clrear sky, so I decided to go hunting on a placed I was gathering info.

 

150Km from Sofia to the North, is the village of Belotintsi. There is a small Gorge formed by a creek "Nechinska bara" and the outcrops are part of Jurassic of Bulgaria.

My source was the National history museum of Sofia and some publications of professors found online. The initial goal was to observe mostly the area as I was little tired for climbing and not properly prepared in terms of equipment.

 

The whole area around (Border with Serbia, Stara Planina Mts, Golo Burdo Mt close to Sofia) were the bottom of Tethys sea.

 

 

Here is a general aspect of the locality. Next time I plan to go to the upper part of the formation (Oxfordian).

 

Pictures numbered from 1 to 4 show some spiecements on the field. The rocks are rich in CaCO3 as they highly react with vinegar. The stones are easily separated with very light blows. Picture number 1, I think I forgot it there

Pictures Sa-Sd: Macrocephalites versus or gracilis I think.

Se: This big fella, sadly found in pieces. I believe it is a different spieces to Macrocephalites. Probably it was detached from a formation above.

Sf-Sg: Some fragments

Sh-Si: I gathered these only to try testing with preparation process. As a novice, I do not want to ruin something nice that was preserved for million of years due to lack of experience.

 

Hope you like the pictures. None of the fossils are museum quality; nevertheless I really enjoyed the day.

Wish to everyone happy and fruitful hunting trips!

Regards,

Dimitris.

 

 

[Thecosmilia Trichitoma]

Nice finds!

[Tidgy's Dad]

An interesting trip report and nice finds.

Thank you for sharing. 

[grandpa]

I really liked the report, the pictures of the area, and the fossils found.  Felt like I just took an enjoyable trip.  I also admire the research you did in prep for the trip.  Keep that up and you sure won't remain "a novice" for long.  Impressive!

[Dimitris]

3 hours ago, Thecosmilia Trichitoma said:

Nice finds!

Thank you! This was reconnaissance trip, next time will be better and more organized.

3 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

An interesting trip report and nice finds.

Thank you for sharing. 

More will follow soon if we keep experiencing that weather in the middle of winter!

1 hour ago, grandpa said:

I really liked the report, the pictures of the area, and the fossils found.  Felt like I just took an enjoyable trip.  I also admire the research you did in prep for the trip.  Keep that up and you sure won't remain "a novice" for long.  Impressive!

Thank you, encouraging words! First of all, I love paleontology as it was a field very close to my subject of studies. The research is done for two reasons. The main purspose of course is to understand the field I will visit (what kind of rocks should I look? Dark grey marls, soft mudrocks?) and have a general aspect of what was that place million years ago. The second reason, but I would say equally important, is that in Bulgaria there are very few people into fossils so there are very limited publications and known sites. Long story short, I have to research both in English and Bulgarian literature (not to mention I am foreigner and struggle to understand Bulgarian), cross validate with other sources like general geological studies, use google earth/google maps, find detect and correct spelling errors of local sites that may misdirect me to a different place. On top of that, applications like rockd are totally useless to me as no one has ever posted something useful in a radius of 500Km around me.

[jpc]

Excellent fossils.  And great report and tale of detective work.  I hope we get to see more of your finds.  

[FossilDAWG]

Those ammonites are very nice indeed , in my opinion, and I appreciated seeing where they come from.  Maybe there are not many people in Bulgaria that are "into" fossils, but we are, so show us more!

 

Don

[Ludwigia]

Hello @Dimitris,

As one who also spends some time in the Callovian, it's very nice to see some finds and this site from your country for a change from my southern German ones. You've done quite well for someone just starting out and I'm sure that you will have more success once you get to know the exposure better. Can you dig directly in the outcrop or were you splitting stones which fell from above?

[Dimitris]

12 hours ago, jpc said:

Excellent fossils.  And great report and tale of detective work.  I hope we get to see more of your finds.  

Thanks! Probably next weekend, weather permitting, I will try to pinpoint a formation nearby!

 

11 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

Those ammonites are very nice indeed , in my opinion, and I appreciated seeing where they come from.  Maybe there are not many people in Bulgaria that are "into" fossils, but we are, so show us more!

 

Don

Honestly, I see my finds more objectively. I would rate them average due to not being complete. As said above, I am trying to locate a formation with iron and pyrite which gives
ammonites this fabulous golden colour. Concerning the audience of fossils, it would have been nice to create a home exchange section for "fossil hunting tourism".
You visit my country, see attractions and dedicate one/two days exclusively for fossil hunting in proven locations.

10 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

Hello @Dimitris,

As one who also spends some time in the Callovian, it's very nice to see some finds and this site from your country for a change from my southern German ones. You've done quite well for someone just starting out and I'm sure that you will have more success once you get to know the exposure better. Can you dig directly in the outcrop or were you splitting stones which fell from above?

So South Germany and NW Bulgaria were one time under the same ocean! Nice! I think I spotted that on a research.
I am not entirely sure how to answer your question.
Yes, I have complete access to every part of the outcrop but I have not managed
to confirm which stones are the fossilferous.

 

Attached below is a picture I took from the museum.

 

According to this graph, I was searching on the base of the formation.
The base seems to be until the edge of a small creek.
With light blue, it is the aprox position of the creek.
The red line indicates lower Callovian part. The boundary is clear by the colour of the rocks (Dark grey marlstone). I removed some rocks directly from the cliff, split them
open but found only fossil traces, nothing complete.
The green line represents the middle and upper Callovian. The rocks change there and seem to be like white limestone (look like chalk maybe). 
I climbed following the orange line, checked some rocks but nothing impressive.

Contrary, the research says about big variety of ammonites in the middle upper.
Next time, I will take a path by the creek with NNW direction which will give me easy access to the upper part.

I also followed the creek downstream (East) but after the last tree you can see, no traces of fossils. The stones also started to have a yellowish patina. Possible presence of sulphur as there was a very subtle smell.

Where I can see your finds of the same era?

[Monica]

2 hours ago, Dimitris said:

So South Germany and NW Bulgaria were one time under the same ocean! Nice! I think I spotted that on a research.

Where I can see your finds of the same era?

 

@Ludwigia has posted much information about his hunting in the Callovian in Germany, as well as his post-prep finds - here is one such thread of his:

 

 

I love reading about people finding ammonites - I have a soft spot for cephalopods 

 

Keep us in the loop regarding your finds in Bulgaria - they look great so far!

[Ludwigia]

3 hours ago, Dimitris said:

 

Where I can see your finds of the same era?

 

First of all, thank you very much for the detailed description of the outcrop. It looks extremely interesting, exposing practically all of the Callovian and also some Oxfordian above. My sites are restricted to the Early Callov, so it's nice to see a place where the whole packet is available.

You can find a lot of my Callovian ammonites in this gallery. And here is a link to another of my posts. There are some older ones somewhere, but the website just allows me to go back 365 days on the search. And thank you @Monica for posting the other link.

[Dimitris]

6 hours ago, Monica said:

 

@Ludwigia has posted much information about his hunting in the Callovian in Germany, as well as his post-prep finds - here is one such thread of his:

 

 

I love reading about people finding ammonites - I have a soft spot for cephalopods 

 

Keep us in the loop regarding your finds in Bulgaria - they look great so far!

Just read it! This formation looks fabulous. So easy to extract things from there. Or it is just my impression of looking soft.

I also like cephalopods. Need some belemnites and nautiloids though, as I do not have even one of these. My next favourites are echinoids and brachipods which I also dont have much.

Dont worry about Bulgaria, I have separated the country as NW,SW,W etc and I have planned even trips until the other side across close to the border with Turkey! So yes many posts will follow!

 

@Ludwigia Your finds are gorgeous. You have a complete family tree of Macrocephalites not to mention a great variety of Staufenia and Hyperlioceras. Echinoids as well, which I lack. Thats a good reason to visit East Bulgaria by the black sea. I have read some reports about such findings. What to say, wish you to open sometime a museum, if you haven't already!

Eh, maybe sometime you should visit Bulgaria some time. Its jurassic & triassic period is mentioned in many scientific articles. The recent years, there is a boom in road construction which reveals many nice outcrops. Pretty good example this, within 20Kms radius of my home

https://www.novinite.com/articles/120941/Bulgaria+Seeks+Foreign+Paleontologists+over+New+Fossils

Check for Sapunov (Сапунов), he has done many studies for Jurassic and has also connected/compared many Bulgarian and German sites.

This is also interesting

THE AMMONITE ZONES OF THE TOARCIAN IN BULGARIA – NEW EVIDENCE, SUBZONATION AND CORRELATION WITH THE STANDARD ZONES AND SUBZONES IN NORTH-WESTERN EUROPE Lubomir S. Metodiev

 

[FossilNerd]

You have some very nice finds! Not much in the way of ammonites in my hunting grounds. 
 

Thanks for the description of your exposure as well. It’s interesting to learn about other areas that people hunt and see the geology. 
 

On 2/1/2020 at 11:59 AM, Dimitris said:

Sh-Si: I gathered these only to try testing with preparation process. As a novice, I do not want to ruin something nice that was preserved for million of years due to lack of experience.

Good luck on your prep! Picking a test piece to practice on is a great idea. Not sure how much of a novice you are, but there is a novice prep guide here that may be of use.  

[Ludwigia]

3 hours ago, Dimitris said:

  Or it is just my impression of looking soft.

 Some matrix  is soft, some a bit harder, but mostly relatively easy to prep.

 

What to say, wish you to open sometime a museum, if you haven't already!

Haha! I suppose I could, but I'm content with my viewing room and a few shelves in the workshop at home.

 

Eh, maybe sometime you should visit Bulgaria some time.

I have already thought about that, and also Hungary, which is well-known for its Middle Jurassic and Triassic sites. Maybe I'll show up on your doorstep one day. 

And thanks for the extra info.

 

 

[jpc]

Sign me up for a trip t Bulgaria-if you can't make it to the states, I can certainly bring you some nice Wyoming fossils.  

 

[Shamalama]

Thank you for writing this story and showing your pictures. It is nice to see other parts of the world I have never been to, and meet their fossils.   Keep up the good work!

[Dimitris]

19 hours ago, FossilNerd said:

You have some very nice finds! Not much in the way of ammonites in my hunting grounds. 
 

Thanks for the description of your exposure as well. It’s interesting to learn about other areas that people hunt and see the geology. 
 

Good luck on your prep! Picking a test piece to practice on is a great idea. Not sure how much of a novice you are, but there is a novice prep guide here that may be of use.  

 

Thanks for the comments! Well we also do not have dinos here (except some small finds on the border with Serbia) so what to do.. Enjoy what the Earth has to offer!

Concerning preparation I am totally novice meaning I have never done. Theoretically I understand many things, know some stuff about chemistry and dissolvents but thats all.

Your guide is very nice. My thought totally agrees with yours, that's why I collected some fossils especially for this purpose.

The final result of your Brachipod is amazing, cost terms and visually. My greatest problem with air scribe tools is the noise. Even the "silent" compressors may cause problem to some people around here. When I have more samples to work with, I will use an underground parking I recently rented.

BTW can I use epoxy resin to put back together broken pieces? It is widely used to repair potery or mosaics (if you dont stick with traditional glue like honey+flour+little cement).

 

@Ludwigia You are welcome any time!!

13 hours ago, jpc said:

Sign me up for a trip t Bulgaria-if you can't make it to the states, I can certainly bring you some nice Wyoming fossils.  

 

Mate honestly any time between March and middle May, then again end of September to November.

After November usually temperature is below zero and a lots of snow (exception this year). Between May and September I have a lot of work since I own a company that sells boat parts so summer is my season. Even then though, I have little free time from Friday afternoon to Sunday midday.

Long story short, these places are worth visiting:

NW: 2-2.30h driving ammonite zone. A place called Gintsi, although it is even richer to the place I visited, is protected. Close to the place I am saying, there are a couple more, but I have not yet located exactly.

W: 1-3h driving. Here is a paradise. You want echinoids? There are. Ammonites? Available. Plant fossils in a lignite mine? Check. Different spieces in the Serbian side of Stara Planina Mts? Easy to go, plus you combine it with amazing BBQ in Nis.

SW: Again 1-3h driving, depends the location you choose. One is in Blagoevgrad, a major city 1h from Sofia. There you can find mostly plant fossils from Oligocene. 

More southern, on the border with Greece, there is another locality I will visit soon. Early Miocene with plants and dragonflies. There is also reference for the same place for snakes and amphibians but I didnt find more.

IMO its better to visit first Greece, see some nice beaches and monuments and on the return, Bulgaria. Flights between these countries are daily and cheap.

But first I need some time to verify more locations. Cant invite someone from across the Ocean, or even from the other side of Europe if I do not have many options to offer.

1 hour ago, Shamalama said:

Thank you for writing this story and showing your pictures. It is nice to see other parts of the world I have never been to, and meet their fossils.   Keep up the good work!

You are welcome! After all it is like a travel review! Too sad I did not have the chance in Morocco.

[jpc]

Dimitris... this sounds cool.  I am sending you a PM.  

[Ludwigia]

37 minutes ago, jpc said:

Dimitris... this sounds cool.  I am sending you a PM.  

Sounds like your students are in for some fun

[jpc]

1 minute ago, Ludwigia said:

Sounds like your students are in for some fun

I would love to do a paleontology of eastern Europe trip sometime.....  : )

 

[Ludwigia]

2 hours ago, jpc said:

I would love to do a paleontology of eastern Europe trip sometime.....  : )

 

Me too for that matter

[Archie]

Really nice finds and interesting report, thanks for sharing! 

[Dimitris]

Hello everybody! After a week of snow, saw sun for three days and decided its a good idea to visit a honey spot.

Sadly, the sun was deceiving, the snow has not yet melted. Actually it was about 20-50cm.

This location is very special to me because:

 

i) Its 30mins from home, which means I can visit again and again.

ii) According to the scientific researches I managed to gather, it has an extreme variety of fossils and exposed outcrops, dating from the WHOLE Mesozoic era.

iii) Furthermore, all researches state that it bears excellently preserved fossils of ammonites, belemnites and brachipods. Of the last two, I do not have even purchased samples.

 

PBDB has nothing published for this place. There are places around with some information and findings but it is not the perfect places.

I managed to put together 5 different researches so I have narrowed down my possible locations.

The last one, which actually gave away the location with coordinates is here:

 

With a first glance I do not see much exposed outcrops, but the existance of a creek is a good sign to have caused erosion.

Click here for the location through google earth.

 

My other lead comes again from the same professor. The previous research was isotopic while this one studies only the distribution of ammonites and bivalves during the Toarcian in that specific section.

Through this map, I conclude that following the small river you should see Aalenian to Callovian, on the small hill NNW of the river is the upper part of the Jurassic and the beginning of Cretaceous. East and following the course of that small river, you may be able to see exposures of Triassic.

 

Last picture shows what I have put together and my possible places I will visit.

I)  The sections marked with yellow next to the main road cutting represent this description:

     It is an exposure of the Ozirovo Formation which is composed mainly of Fe-ooidal limestones and rare ferruginized marls, having a total thickness of 3.25 m.

     I will not check those places as I would prefer to avoid curious eyes and questions like what are you doing here.

II) Marker with coordinates after Dr. Metodiev and his isotopic research on belemnites. On google Earth doesnt look promising, hope I am proven wrong.

III) With light blue I depict the area which seems most interesting to me.

IV) Orange triangle is possible location for Triassic exposure.

V) Purple is the road I followed today. Line with car and dots on foot. I spotted some rocks, definately CaCO3. No sign of fossils. Almost everything was covered with snow.

 

I will visit it again next week, weather permitting. Meanwhile, I would like to hear your comments concerning the locations I mark. What other spot looks good to check? Do I miss something?

Findings, pictures and the rest will continue on the same topic of course.

Thank you everyone for reading until here, sorry for the long post!

 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Sources:

 

GEOLOGICA BALCANICA, 36. 3—4, Sofia, Decemb. 2007, p. 91—96.

Documentation and correlation of transgressive-regressive cycles from three Lower-Middle Jurassic successions of the Western Balkan Mts, Bulgaria

Elena Koleva-Rekalova, Lubomir Metodiev, Daria Ivanova

 

Geological Institute, Sofia

Biostratigrapy of the Toarcian in the section at the village of Beledie Han (Western Balkan Mts), Bulgaria

L. Metodiev, D. Ivanova, E. Koleva-Rekalova

 

Trans-border (south-eastern Serbia/south-western Bulgaria) correlations of the Jurassic sediments: the Getic and Supra-Getic units

PLATON TCHOUMATCHENCO , DRAGOMAN RABRENOVIC , VLADAN RADULOVIC , NENAD MALESHEVIC & BARBARA RADULOVIC

 

Geological Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Stable isotope records (d18O and d13C) of Lower-Middle Jurassic belemnites from the Western Balkan mountains (Bulgaria): Palaeoenvironmental application

Lubomir Metodiev *, Elena Koleva-Rekalova

 

Edited February 9, 2020 by Dimitris

[Tidgy's Dad]

Interesting. 

Good luck when you do get a chance to explore the exposures.

Keen to see what you discover. 

[FranzBernhard]

I am deeply impressed, @Dimitris! You are doing such good work, incredible! And you are a real prospector !

52 minutes ago, Dimitris said:

What other spot looks good to check?

Impossible to say! Check out the areas you have already marked, good outcrops are always a good start to make yourself familiar with the geology and the rocks. But there can be poorly exposed, very small, very productive spots somewhere in the wooded areas...

Ah, and check out the creek itself!

Happy prospecting and good luck!
Franz Bernhard