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Moving grandfather's fossils


lildragon

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Hello everyone!

 

I had already posted a short introduction on the new members subforum, but then I thought it might be nice to start a diary of our latest adventure here.

 

I am an amateur fossil hunter and prepper from Belgium and recently have been put in charge of securing my husband's grandfather's secondary fossil collection, together with my husband and little brother in law. Or in other words; the non displayed and non prepped fossils which he collected during the sixties and seventies (although we did find some younger specimens as well). The task is a daunting one, and very challenging as well, since the fossil storage is very poor, and there is little to no light or heating when we work. 

 

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The picture above shows a very small fraction of the attic as we found it after moving piles of other things. As we dug through boxes who haven't been moved in 50 years, we discovered most of the boxes and covers used to store the fossils had been eaten by rodents. Boxes soaked with feces and moisture, others completely filled with what once must have been beautiful pyrite samples, completely oxidized and obliterated through the ages. At some points gloves and masks had to be worn to dig through it safely.

 

Apart from fossils the collection also includes minerals and shells of amazing quality, though many of them have broken due to instability, and some boxes had been caved in because they had been stacked so high the boxes touched the ceiling.

 

Once aware of the actual size of the secondary collection, we decided upon buying several magazine racks just to be able to store it all. 

 

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This is about 1/4th of the racks set up. As of today 3 of them are up and almost completely filled, as I guess we have secured 60% of the collection...

 

Since a good number of fossils have been moved, and we are working with a tight schedule, I won't always be able to take pictures of my finds, but I will try to post some shots of the most interesting finds of the day as we progress. Same for when I start prepping the specimens collected.

 

So, without further ado, onto today's finds. Enjoy!

 

Crates full of Dinosaur poop! 

 

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I found a couple of bags full of nodules containing ammonites. These were found in 1974!

 

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Fern leaves from a nearby coal mine.

 

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Shark teeth!

 

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I'll be back soon with more discoveries during our different kind of fossil hunt!

 

 

 

 

 

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Few pics of some earlier finds! The collection is 30/30/30 fossils/shells/minerals, so if allowed, I'll share all finds.

 

Box full of gypsum Crystals.

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More shark teeth and sea urchins.

 

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Lovely ammonite. Very large.

 

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Weathered Garden ammonite. Laughed when we found this.

 

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One of the ammonite bags had a split nodule. Looks really nice!

 

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Quartz and plant fossils, and possibly black glass. Maybe obsidian?

 

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Random box filled with fossils and seeds.

 

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Wow, it looks like he was going into business!

I assume he didn't label things very well? I don't see labels. This would be unfortunate, as fossils and mineral specimens really need their collecting info (location).

I know what you mean about rodents... Not long ago I needed to move a bunch of my collection outside to be able to refloor the basement, and just a month or so the tissues had been chewed on (shredded) and there were dropping in some of the trays. It doesn't take them long...

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22 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

What super stuff! 

I particularly love the dino coprolites and know someone else who will too.

@GeschWhat

@Carl likes a poo too. Not sure they’re all coprolite tho particularly the ones with holes in. 

 

@lildragon what a fun task you’ve got! Very envious of you!

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Today I'm back with new finds! We started in a different attic room with more light, and we discovered Grandpa had a very specific love...

You see, he loved using his microscope and magnifying glass to search for fossil seeds and other things. We even found a little box with Sahara desert sand!

 

There are plastic boxes, buckets and sacks full of fossil grit and sand... It must be in the hundreds of Kg's... 

 

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And more good news! We got more time to clear the attic. So now we can dig into boxes more specifically, and try to sort fossils.

Right now I'm repacking most fossils so they can survive the trip. As I was digging I found these septarian nodules!

 

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I found a few more later... And ofcourse, even more ammonites appeared. These seem to be popping up everywhere.

 

 

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Found this little gem in a tin cookie box. 

 

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Found some more lovely plant fossils too!

 

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And then we bumped into this mystery rock... It is HEAVY. Holy cow. The box it was in collapsed as we picked it up as these bad boys rolled out. Has anyone got any clue what these are?

We've been googling and discussing possibilities but nothing we find seems to fit the bill. 

 

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And then we found a box full of sand. As we moved it, it felt heavier than it should, so I started pooring out sand and shell fragments only to uncover there were fossil plates wrapped in plastic bags at the bottom:

 

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These reminded us of dendrites. But we're not quite certain what these are. Next up we found boxes and boxes full of fossiziled Corals and wood. 

 

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This particular coral looked amazing. The texture is very visible.

 

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And then hidden inside a closet full of video tapes we found boxes with shells and other goodies. Didn't see that one coming. Fossils in every nook and cranny.

 

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And this particular shell was so cool! It has a coral growing on top of it!

 

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And lastly some raw amethyst and some different minerals:

 

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I'll be back with more on thursday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 2/6/2018 at 3:47 PM, lildragon said:

 

And then we bumped into this mystery rock... It is HEAVY.  Has anyone got any clue what these are?

 

Looks like galena, a lead ore.

Can You do a streak test? (drag across an unglazed porcelain to see what color it is.)

Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys."

Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough."

 

My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection

My favorite thread on TFF.

 

 

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On 2/6/2018 at 3:47 PM, lildragon said:

And this particular shell was so cool! It has a sponge growing on top of it!

This is also a coral.

Notice the "star burst" pattern.(coral septa)

Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys."

Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough."

 

My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection

My favorite thread on TFF.

 

 

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I'm glad you're taking precautions dealing with the rodent contaminants.  Lots of nasty viruses can be transmitted in rodent urine and feces.

 

Apparently magazines in Belgium are a lot heavier than American magazines.

 

Is there locality data with that shell hash/sand/etc?  You seem to know where the ammonites are from, are they labeled or do you just know where such fossils are found?

 

This all reminds me that one of these decades I need to start thinking about how to dispose of my collection.  I don't want to stick my kids with the job.

 

Don

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@FossilDAWG  Many things have either a locale written on the cardboard boxes, and most fossil finds must have had little papers inbetween them, but most of them have been shredded by rodents. Good news though! We found a journal of his locations and founds, pretty much the holy grail of our finds. Now we might be able to track back what we found on the attic if there is a date written on the box, which there often is.

 

The latest corner we found however, must be a mix of his favorite finds, probably the next ones he would've prepped. The boxes read ''the Alpes'' but it had finds from all over the world.

 

I think it will take a couple of years to unbox and sort everything at this rate. Apart from emptying the attack, we are building our own house (and much of it is DIY), so to say we are busy is an understatement, especially with 3 special needs kids in the mix. But we don't mind emptying the attic that much, given that we have good company and do some other hilarious finds, we are all for this adventure. 

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Oh good, you have found the records for the collection... That's a relief. I've been trying to be diligent about keeping records for my own collection so that if I pop off no one has to post photos of my collection on the Forum and get mostly uncertain answers! (if they even bother to do that. Kudos to you for making the attempt instead of throwing the lot out in the ditch)

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9 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

...

This all reminds me that one of these decades I need to start thinking about how to dispose of my collection.  I don't want to stick my kids with the job.

Don

You could offload some of it to me! I've been covetous of that Marsupites ever since you showed it to me...  :D

But you bring up a serious point.. I still wonder how I'm going to dispose of my collection besides the stuff the museum will accept as donations - that is presumably all the non-BC stuff. Hopefully I've got some time yet to think about it.

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The 2nd picture with the bag of grit is well labeled.

Carriere gauthier winqz in Soignies, ( tournaisian )

That is a bag full with crinoid stems.

 

Thats a nice occupation for in the winter, sorting them out, there are quite a few different species in there and you can even find some sea urchin parts :)

 

the 1st picture with all the shell remains looks like washed out sands of Berchem ( Miocene ) but I am not 100% sure, you should try to find a few complete shells in there, then mabey I can tell you more.

 

 

growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional.

 

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Looks like he had accumulated a super nice collection of many different specimens and minerals. What a great way to "hunt" for treasures.

I am surprised that so much weight being in the attic that the ceilings did not come down. Thanks for posting pictures a I look forward to seeing

more of what you uncover. Looking back at the pictures it's hard to pic a few favorites as there are some many different things.

 your grandfather sure amassed an awesome collection over the years.

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8 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

Oh good, you have found the records for the collection... That's a relief. I've been trying to be diligent about keeping records for my own collection so that if I pop off no one has to post photos of my collection on the Forum and get mostly uncertain answers! (if they even bother to do that. Kudos to you for making the attempt instead of throwing the lot out in the ditch)

That's a very good point.  We don't often (hopefully and thankfully) always consider our mortality, especially untimely mortality.  I have buckets of stuff awaiting accessioning, but I always make sure to put a notecard in each with all relevant data.  I wouldn't need to do this for myself in most cases, because I can tell by looking at the stuff.  But in the event of my untimely demise, they'd be relatively worthless without data.  Label, label, label.   And when you're done labeling, label some more!:)

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19 minutes ago, Peat Burns said:

That's a very good point.  We don't often (hopefully and thankfully) always consider our mortality, especially untimely mortality.  I have buckets of stuff awaiting accessioning, but I always make sure to put a notecard in each with all relevant data.  I wouldn't need to do this for myself in most cases, because I can tell by looking at the stuff.  But in the event of my untimely demise, they'd be relatively worthless without data.  Label, label, label.   And when you're done labeling, label some more!:)

I think you forgot to mention how important it is to label you fossils. :)

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Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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1 hour ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

I think you forgot to mention how important it is to label you fossils. :)

hehehe :)

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I guess you can say your grandpa was an OLD TIMER (ba-dum, tss!) :ighappy:

 

 

Some of that stuff is absolutely mouth-watering. :drool: How long did your old man do that?

Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such.

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52 minutes ago, MeargleSchmeargl said:

I guess you can say your grandpa was an OLD TIMER (ba-dum, tss!) :ighappy:

 

 

Some of that stuff is absolutely mouth-watering. :drool: How long did your old man do that?

It's my husbands grandfather, which I got to know since a teen, so I've known him for over a decade now. The sir could tell the most amazing stories, and has seen the entire globe. And even during his down time, or when he was working, he would find ways to collect things. Mainly seeds. I remember we went mushroom hunting one day. Came back with a bag full of chestnuts and other goodies too, and grilled them the same night. His attic is also filled with dried herbs and rare seeds. I wouldn't even know where to start on those.

 

I also know my husband has fond memories of trips to iceland, where he offcourse managed to collect numerous minerals, and went whale watching with the grandkids.

 

He really is quite the impressive persona. He was a very hard working pharmacist, who ran a succesfull side business which has become one of the leading ventures in its kind of the Benelux by now, and he still managed to collect all these specimens. It's quite amazing, and a large contrast to my upbringing, so I'm amazed by the entire thing. He has a humongous classical music collection as well, and several antique musical instruments.

 

But fossil hunting must have been his main love. He has been collecting fossils for his entire life. For as far as I can reconstruct reading the dates on all the boxes, he must have been going at it from 1967 to 2007. Which means the year he turned 80, he was still going at it.

 

And when he couldn't anymore, he started sifting through grit and fossilized sands, filling up and labeling tiny plastic boxes and special glass slides to study later under his microscope. 

I asked him wether he had heartache about giving away his collection. For him, it was of great importance the collection stayed within the family. He was happy that his firstborn grandson married a girl who didn't mind sticking her fingers in the dirt to find treasures. So he was happy to pass on what he collected. Sad that he didn't have another lifetime to prepare it all. He was very down to earth about it all. We've discussed everything in length.

 

The most contested fossil amongst the main collection was a rather large ammonite, still partially unprepped. The problem of who this would go to was easily solved when he decided to keep just that piece for himself. It has been asked of us to prepare this ammonite. It's a last wish regarding his collection of sorts, so once everything is moved, that will be my main goal. Said ammonite was so heavy when it was still inside the matrix, it bent the plate of his back then old-timer trunk of his car :). Another lovely anecdote, and one of many.

 

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Found a picture of the ammonite in question in our archive. Look at the electrical cable to the left to get an idea of how large it is. 

To say I'm nervous to have a go at it is an understatement... But once it's time to start working on it I will consult you guys.

 

It has been partially prepped in the 70's by hammer and chisel. The core still needs to be freed from the matrix. 

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15 hours ago, Manticocerasman said:

The 2nd picture with the bag of grit is well labeled.

Carriere gauthier winqz in Soignies, ( tournaisian )

That is a bag full with crinoid stems.

 

Thats a nice occupation for in the winter, sorting them out, there are quite a few different species in there and you can even find some sea urchin parts :)

I was there last year in may. Are you aware of anything i can determinate the species of crinoids with?

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