Hastings, Uk Trip!

[Ammojoe]

Hello Everyone,

Unfortunately, this year I haven't really been able to go hunting much - only managing to make a couple of trips this year. Over the Christmas period I visited some of my family in Hastings, which is on the South Coast of England. Hastings beach is a little known fossiling area; which can produce some stunning finds in the right conditions. It is one of the few places within the UK where you can find dinosaur bones, but they are pretty rare - you need rough winter storms to stand any chance of finding them. I apologise in advance for the lack of location photos – it was so freezing; my hands couldn’t bear the cold!

I’ve hunted three times previously at Hastings, every time I have returned empty handed, although I’ve heard stories of people finding spectacular dinosaur bones…

I set off onto the beach on 24th December, the tides were ideal with low tide just having been. My family (for some unknown reason!) didn't fancy spending Christmas Eve on a very murky beach in the pouring rain, so it was just me and Mother Nature. The rain was looking eminent, and there was a gloomy loom over the entire beach.

I made my way onto the beach and the rain was already setting in. The cliffs at Hastings are incredibly breath taking; they tower over the whole beach. There are three sections to the beach; nearest the cliff, in the centre, and at the water’s edge. In the past I’ve typically hunted in the middle section of the beach. I did this for a period of around 15 minutes, before I decided I would head slightly towards the cliffs (whilst maintaining a safe distance); to see whether there was anything there. I looked around the rocks, the beach is composed mainly of flint and huge boulders – it just didn’t look like the right territory to find bones, so I headed out towards the section of rocks that were at the tidal line.

At this point the heavens opened, and a delicious shower of tepid rain fell upon me – this soon soaked through, and I began to lose any warmth that I had. I decided that this was a majestic moment, and I wasn’t going to be put off by a light shower (or, even a heavy shower!). I proceeded towards the sea and started picking up plausible looking rocks (although I didn’t have much idea of what I was looking for, I thought it would be tennis ball sized black rocks). The rocks that I was plucking from the sea’s grasp were underwater at the time that I unsettled them from their location. This meant that I couldn’t see the rocks until they were released from the sea’s grip – every time I picked up a rock there was a little flow of excitement that rushed around my body, only to be extinguished by the reality that I’d found yet another lump of flint…

This carried on for a while; all the mean time my hands were slowing turning numb and the rain soaked into my already saturated clothing. I then spotted another lump, and I picked it up – I had picked up around 10 plausible pieces by this time – as it surfaced from under the water I could see that it was another lump of flint. I was just about to move on to a new patch, until I spotted a plausible lump. I went to pick this lump up…

…as I picked this lump up and dragged it out from under the water a flow of excitement rushed over me, and this time, it didn’t fade! I had found a dinosaur bone. I looked at the candidate again, attempting to retain my balance, and I took a deep breath realising that I’d managed to find a genuine piece of British dinosaur. I was quite overwhelmed to say the least.

Here is the piece that I had found:

I then started heading back towards the car as my time was running out. Every five steps I took I had to retrieve the bone from my pocket to check that it was real (it didn’t disappoint)! As I was making my way back to the car I continued to search amongst the rocks on the foreshore in the tidal line. I was in total disbelief of finding my first piece of dinosaur from Hastings, upon which I stumbled across a siderite nodule which looked suspiciously as if it contained yet more bone!

By this time the light was fading and I couldn’t really make out whether what I was seeing was bone or if it was just markings on the nodule – I grabbed the lump and made my way back to the car.

I trudged back to car, soaked to the max, to meet my parents. They greeted me as if I was some bedraggled oddity which enjoyed spending time alone on a beach in the pouring rain – their rather bemused greeting didn’t dampen my spirit; I was too thrilled with my finds.

I then washed the siderite nodule, which confirmed that my suspicions were indeed correct, and I had found another bone (or should that be bones!?). Here are the photos of my second find:

All in all it had been a highly successful trip that I thoroughly enjoyed – in my opinion there was no greater way to spend Christmas Eve. If anybody could help with identifications it would be greatly appreciated. The fossils are from the Wealden Group; although beyond that I struggle to add any information. I know dinosaurs such as Iguanodon have been found there. I hope you enjoyed reading my report, and my ramble wasn’t too annoying!

All the best,

Joe

Edited December 26, 2012 by Ammojoe

[Bullsnake]

I enjoyed that report. Congratulations on the awesome finds! And also victory with your own battle of Hastings! (with the weather)

[Fossildude19]

Well done, Joe!

Congratulations on persevering and making a rare find.

I enjoyed your report as well - kept me on the edge of my seat!

Thanks for posting the pics and well written report.

Regards,

[cowsharks]

Congratulations on your find. I would never have known that specimen was a piece of bone, let alone dinosaur bone. Isn't that feeling of excitement just awesome when you find something you so desperately have been wanting for so long? You won this round at the Battle of Hastings!

Daryl.

[Ammojoe]

Thank you Steve, Tim, and Daryl - your words are very kind. It's fantastic to be able to share our hunts vicariously through the Forum; and the diversity continually exhibited on the Forum only compliments the generated interest. It's my pleasure to share my hunting experiences with you; and it's all the more worthwhile when you reciprocate with such lovely comments.

Kind Regards,

Joe

[Down under fossil hunter]

Great story Joe, it made me feel like I was right there with you (despite sitting in sweltering heat on the other side of the world)!

I have a few teeth etc from the Wealdon and I would love to fossick around Hastings, I think I will have to add it to the bucket list.

Congratulations and well done!

Edited December 28, 2012 by Down under fossil hunter

[sjaak]

Very nice report. I was once in Hastings in the summer and didn't find anything, but the cliffs were very beautiful and at least I had some good weather!

Must be a nice feeling to own your own piece of land dinosaur.

[Ammojoe]

Thanks for your comments. I'd definitely recommend you make a trip (or return trip); it is a fantastic location, and if you time it correctly you can come away with some truly stunning finds.

Joe

[Sinopaleus]

Hello Everyone,

Unfortunately, this year I haven't really been able to go hunting much - only managing to make a couple of trips this year. Over the Christmas period I visited some of my family in Hastings, which is on the South Coast of England. Hastings beach is a little known fossiling area; which can produce some stunning finds in the right conditions. It is one of the few places within the UK where you can find dinosaur bones, but they are pretty rare - you need rough winter storms to stand any chance of finding them. I apologise in advance for the lack of location photos – it was so freezing; my hands couldn’t bear the cold!

I’ve hunted three times previously at Hastings, every time I have returned empty handed, although I’ve heard stories of people finding spectacular dinosaur bones…

I set off onto the beach on 24th December, the tides were ideal with low tide just having been. My family (for some unknown reason!) didn't fancy spending Christmas Eve on a very murky beach in the pouring rain, so it was just me and Mother Nature. The rain was looking eminent, and there was a gloomy loom over the entire beach.

I made my way onto the beach and the rain was already setting in. The cliffs at Hastings are incredibly breath taking; they tower over the whole beach. There are three sections to the beach; nearest the cliff, in the centre, and at the water’s edge. In the past I’ve typically hunted in the middle section of the beach. I did this for a period of around 15 minutes, before I decided I would head slightly towards the cliffs (whilst maintaining a safe distance); to see whether there was anything there. I looked around the rocks, the beach is composed mainly of flint and huge boulders – it just didn’t look like the right territory to find bones, so I headed out towards the section of rocks that were at the tidal line.

At this point the heavens opened, and a delicious shower of tepid rain fell upon me – this soon soaked through, and I began to lose any warmth that I had. I decided that this was a majestic moment, and I wasn’t going to be put off by a light shower (or, even a heavy shower!). I proceeded towards the sea and started picking up plausible looking rocks (although I didn’t have much idea of what I was looking for, I thought it would be tennis ball sized black rocks). The rocks that I was plucking from the sea’s grasp were underwater at the time that I unsettled them from their location. This meant that I couldn’t see the rocks until they were released from the sea’s grip – every time I picked up a rock there was a little flow of excitement that rushed around my body, only to be extinguished by the reality that I’d found yet another lump of flint…

This carried on for a while; all the mean time my hands were slowing turning numb and the rain soaked into my already saturated clothing. I then spotted another lump, and I picked it up – I had picked up around 10 plausible pieces by this time – as it surfaced from under the water I could see that it was another lump of flint. I was just about to move on to a new patch, until I spotted a plausible lump. I went to pick this lump up…

…as I picked this lump up and dragged it out from under the water a flow of excitement rushed over me, and this time, it didn’t fade! I had found a dinosaur bone. I looked at the candidate again, attempting to retain my balance, and I took a deep breath realising that I’d managed to find a genuine piece of British dinosaur. I was quite overwhelmed to say the least.

Here is the piece that I had found:

I then started heading back towards the car as my time was running out. Every five steps I took I had to retrieve the bone from my pocket to check that it was real (it didn’t disappoint)! As I was making my way back to the car I continued to search amongst the rocks on the foreshore in the tidal line. I was in total disbelief of finding my first piece of dinosaur from Hastings, upon which I stumbled across a siderite nodule which looked suspiciously as if it contained yet more bone!

By this time the light was fading and I couldn’t really make out whether what I was seeing was bone or if it was just markings on the nodule – I grabbed the lump and made my way back to the car.

I trudged back to car, soaked to the max, to meet my parents. They greeted me as if I was some bedraggled oddity which enjoyed spending time alone on a beach in the pouring rain – their rather bemused greeting didn’t dampen my spirit; I was too thrilled with my finds.

I then washed the siderite nodule, which confirmed that my suspicions were indeed correct, and I had found another bone (or should that be bones!?). Here are the photos of my second find:

All in all it had been a highly successful trip that I thoroughly enjoyed – in my opinion there was no greater way to spend Christmas Eve. If anybody could help with identifications it would be greatly appreciated. The fossils are from the Wealden Group; although beyond that I struggle to add any information. I know dinosaurs such as Iguanodon have been found there. I hope you enjoyed reading my report, and my ramble wasn’t too annoying!

All the best,

Joe

Absolutely fantastic report Joe It sure does remind me of my summer! Picking up possible dinosaur bone from the desert dunes only to be let down to know that it was just clay. Patience and determination does pay off sometimes now does it?

Yes, Hastings contain Early Cretaceous (143-139 mya) material. Iguanodon is not the only one there, but the famous Baryonyx can be found there too.

Your first piece (very, very nice detail to the bone!) can be a variety of bones. I am quite certain, however, that your piece is in fact part of a limb. It could be the distal or proximal tibia, distal radius, distal ulna or a juvenile's proximal humerus. It may very well also be a rib-head, but because your piece displays a slight concave indentation, my best guess would be distal radius. It is however, a guess, so keep that in mind...

How thick is the layer of bone to the marrow? That will help with the bone's I.D

The nice bones in the siderite look like cross sections of ribs to me

I am eager to see the siderite nodule prepped!

[Kosmoceras]

Thanks for posting Joe, an amazing find we would all want in our collections. Well worth the rain I would say!

Having also been posted on the Uk Forum, I will just add what the locals to Hastings thought:

"There appears to be a broken end (first/top picture). Could it be part of a much larger bone. It appears to be a broad, flat piece of bone. Could it be a piece of Iggy scapula (shoulder blade) bone. Is it too thick for the end of a humerus (upper arm bone)?"

Regards,

[Sinopaleus]

Thanks for posting Joe, an amazing find we would all want in our collections. Well worth the rain I would say!

Having also been posted on the Uk Forum, I will just add what the locals to Hastings thought:

"There appears to be a broken end (first/top picture). Could it be part of a much larger bone. It appears to be a broad, flat piece of bone. Could it be a piece of Iggy scapula (shoulder blade) bone. Is it too thick for the end of a humerus (upper arm bone)?"

Regards,

Iguanodontoid scapula are consistent in shape from the proximal portion to the beginning of the distal portion. The distal end of the scapula is slightly curved in as it follows the curve of the ribs. The specimen Joe found does not display a slight inward curve, therefore ruling out the possibility of a scapula

The distal end of the humerus is a good choice indeed, for it displays a concave curve as seen in Joe's specimen. However, Joe's specimen's curve is too small and specified to match the curve of the distal humerus. Joe's specimen merely shows a small oval dent in the bone, while the distal humerus is curved overall. Not to mention the lateral epicondyle of an Iguanodon humerus is too wide to match this specimen.

Edited December 30, 2012 by Sinopaleus

[TMNH]

Very nice trip report Joe! What a treat to have been able to collect at such a well known site! I am very curious as to what your bone is...

Regards,

[Ammojoe]

Thanks Henry, Thomas and Joe - your kind words mean a lot to me. Thank you both Thomas and Henry for your wealth of information; I wouldn't even know where to begin when identifying the dinosaur bones! Thanks to both of you!

All the best,

Joe

[Sinopaleus]

Thanks Henry, Thomas and Joe - your kind words mean a lot to me. Thank you both Thomas and Henry for your wealth of information; I wouldn't even know where to begin when identifying the dinosaur bones! Thanks to both of you!

All the best,

Joe

Joe, I was wondering, how thick is the outer bone layer, and how thick is the bone (including the marrow) overall?

[Terry Dactyll]

Joe.... Very well spotted... Not common material at all.... Congratulations....