ziggycardon Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Hi everyone! After the recommendations of @Manticocerasman, @gigantoraptor & @Joeri_R I joined the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology). Today I got my confirmation mail of the membership. I have long been wanting to go out on fossil hunts especially in my own region which consist of cretaceous limestone from the Maastrichtian. Luckily for me the next fossil excursion planned by the BVP is a trip to the Romontbos quarry in Eben-Emael which is only a 20 - 25 minute drive for me. So I did sign up for said excursion but since it's my first ever fossil hunt I want to go prepared and I was wondering if any of you have any tips on what tools and stuff to take with me to the quarry and what tools are best for excavating said limestone. I already know that a safety helmet, safety gloves and a fluorescent jacket are required and that safety glasses and steeltipped working shoes are recommended. I was also planning on taking enough water to stay hydrated, a backpack and a good strong bag to transport excavated fossils and perhaps some matrix to examine later. And I was planning on purchasing this kit from my regular fossil shop. Are there any other tools or items that I should bring? Or does anyone have some tips for an inexperienced beginner? Or is anyone is familiar with the location feel free to share. Thank you in advance and I look forward to my first hunt! 4 Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science! Professional exotic pet keeper, huge fantasy geek, explorer of the microfossil realm, member of the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology), Volunteer prepper at Oertijdmuseum Boxtel. View my collection topic here: The Growing Collection of Ziggycardon My animal collection at the "Members pet" topic Ziggycardon's exploration of the microfossil realm Trips to Eben Emael (Maastrichtian of Belgium) My latest fossil hunt Next project will be a dedicated prepping space. "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigantoraptor Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Nice, looking forward to meet you there. It will be my first time there too, so I am certainly following this topic. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Does this quarry have similar rocks and fossils to what you see in the big quarry at Maastricht? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggycardon Posted June 8, 2019 Author Share Posted June 8, 2019 51 minutes ago, gigantoraptor said: Nice, looking forward to meet you there. It will be my first time there too, so I am certainly following this topic. Same here, look forward to meet some forum members 17 minutes ago, jpc said: Does this quarry have similar rocks and fossils to what you see in the big quarry at Maastricht? Yes, it are indeed the same rocks and formation as the ENCI quarry in Maastricht. Both quarries are only 4 or 5 km apart from each other. 1 Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science! Professional exotic pet keeper, huge fantasy geek, explorer of the microfossil realm, member of the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology), Volunteer prepper at Oertijdmuseum Boxtel. View my collection topic here: The Growing Collection of Ziggycardon My animal collection at the "Members pet" topic Ziggycardon's exploration of the microfossil realm Trips to Eben Emael (Maastrichtian of Belgium) My latest fossil hunt Next project will be a dedicated prepping space. "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 20 hours ago, ziggycardon said: Same here, look forward to meet some forum members Yes, it are indeed the same rocks and formation as the ENCI quarry in Maastricht. Both quarries are only 4 or 5 km apart from each other. Is the Belgian quarry open to collecting? Do you have to be a club member? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggycardon Posted June 9, 2019 Author Share Posted June 9, 2019 I did send a mail today to the BVP to ask what kind of tools they do recommend for this excursion. Ofcourse the Safety gear as I mentioned above is needed but for this quarry they also did recommend to bring a crack hammer and chisel or a geological hammer. They did also recommend a saw to saw the mergel (limestone) into smaller slabs. And ofcourse a bucket or bag to put the collected material and some wrapping material & seal bags. 6 minutes ago, jpc said: Is the Belgian quarry open to collecting? Do you have to be a club member? I don't actually know, I was planning on asking that to the excursion leader, because if it is open for collecting then it might become a regular fossil spot for me since it's so close. perhaps some of the other members here know? Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science! Professional exotic pet keeper, huge fantasy geek, explorer of the microfossil realm, member of the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology), Volunteer prepper at Oertijdmuseum Boxtel. View my collection topic here: The Growing Collection of Ziggycardon My animal collection at the "Members pet" topic Ziggycardon's exploration of the microfossil realm Trips to Eben Emael (Maastrichtian of Belgium) My latest fossil hunt Next project will be a dedicated prepping space. "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalie81 Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 On 9/6/2019 at 8:18 PM, ziggycardon said: I did send a mail today to the BVP to ask what kind of tools they do recommend for this excursion. Ofcourse the Safety gear as I mentioned above is needed but for this quarry they also did recommend to bring a crack hammer and chisel or a geological hammer. They did also recommend a saw to saw the mergel (limestone) into smaller slabs. And ofcourse a bucket or bag to put the collected material and some wrapping material & seal bags. I don't actually know, I was planning on asking that to the excursion leader, because if it is open for collecting then it might become a regular fossil spot for me since it's so close. perhaps some of the other members here know? Manticocerasman and I will be there too, looking forward to meet you! About de quarry, it is not an open quarry, only possible to visit with a club. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 looking forward to see you there Ken with the kit that you show you got more than enough tools to get started , I got the same backpack Just make sure you got a few small containers and old papers to wrap and store the finds in jour backpack. 1 growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggycardon Posted June 11, 2019 Author Share Posted June 11, 2019 8 hours ago, Manticocerasman said: looking forward to see you there Ken with the kit that you show you got more than enough tools to get started , I got the same backpack Just make sure you got a few small containers and old papers to wrap and store the finds in jour backpack. Okee, thank you, good to know that that kit suffice! And yes I was planning on bringing some small boxes to store the fossils in, as well as plenty of seal bags and a roll of kitchen paper 10 hours ago, Natalie81 said: Manticocerasman and I will be there too, looking forward to meet you! About de quarry, it is not an open quarry, only possible to visit with a club. I am looking very forward to meet all of you Did the two of you hunt there before? Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science! Professional exotic pet keeper, huge fantasy geek, explorer of the microfossil realm, member of the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology), Volunteer prepper at Oertijdmuseum Boxtel. View my collection topic here: The Growing Collection of Ziggycardon My animal collection at the "Members pet" topic Ziggycardon's exploration of the microfossil realm Trips to Eben Emael (Maastrichtian of Belgium) My latest fossil hunt Next project will be a dedicated prepping space. "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalie81 Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 1 hour ago, ziggycardon said: Okee, thank you, good to know that that kit suffice! And yes I was planning on bringing some small boxes to store the fossils in, as well as plenty of seal bags and a roll of kitchen paper I am looking very forward to meet all of you Did the two of you hunt there before? We go there once a year with the BVP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggycardon Posted June 11, 2019 Author Share Posted June 11, 2019 12 minutes ago, Natalie81 said: We go there once a year with the BVP Ow awesome! How is it there to hunt, is it easy to find something? And what fossils are the most common finds there, I know from the NHM in Maastricht what fauna can be found but since I haven't been on a fossilhunt yet I don't really have an idea what are common finds from there and what not. Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science! Professional exotic pet keeper, huge fantasy geek, explorer of the microfossil realm, member of the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology), Volunteer prepper at Oertijdmuseum Boxtel. View my collection topic here: The Growing Collection of Ziggycardon My animal collection at the "Members pet" topic Ziggycardon's exploration of the microfossil realm Trips to Eben Emael (Maastrichtian of Belgium) My latest fossil hunt Next project will be a dedicated prepping space. "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 7 minutes ago, ziggycardon said: Ow awesome! How is it there to hunt, is it easy to find something? And what fossils are the most common finds there, I know from the NHM in Maastricht what fauna can be found but since I haven't been on a fossilhunt yet I don't really have an idea what are common finds from there and what not. oysters are realy common, also small pecten and bellemnites, if you are lucky sea urchins and on rare ocasions shark teeth and even marine reptile but they are realy rare. this is what we found last year: 2 growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggycardon Posted June 11, 2019 Author Share Posted June 11, 2019 14 minutes ago, Manticocerasman said: oysters are realy common, also small pecten and bellemnites, if you are lucky sea urchins and on rare ocasions shark teeth and even marine reptile but they are realy rare. this is what we found last year: Okay thank you for sharing, lovely finds! I do hope to find some cool things, a shark tooth would indeed be a jackpot since I doubt I'll be lucky enough to find a marine reptile fossil during my first hunt Any tips on good spots to find fossils in the quarry, where I should look out for to find something? And is there a possibility to collect microfossil matrix or isn't it really worth to search for that? 2 Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science! Professional exotic pet keeper, huge fantasy geek, explorer of the microfossil realm, member of the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology), Volunteer prepper at Oertijdmuseum Boxtel. View my collection topic here: The Growing Collection of Ziggycardon My animal collection at the "Members pet" topic Ziggycardon's exploration of the microfossil realm Trips to Eben Emael (Maastrichtian of Belgium) My latest fossil hunt Next project will be a dedicated prepping space. "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 16 minutes ago, ziggycardon said: Okay thank you for sharing, lovely finds! I do hope to find some cool things, a shark tooth would indeed be a jackpot since I doubt I'll be lucky enough to find a marine reptile fossil during my first hunt Any tips on good spots to find fossils in the quarry, where I should look out for to find something? And is there a possibility to collect microfossil matrix or isn't it really worth to search for that? we 'll show you around the matrix should be very good for micro fossils, I ve never search for this, but you can easily take some residu at home to woork through, ther should be plenty of bryozans and such. 2 growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggycardon Posted June 12, 2019 Author Share Posted June 12, 2019 21 hours ago, Manticocerasman said: we 'll show you around the matrix should be very good for micro fossils, I ve never search for this, but you can easily take some residu at home to woork through, ther should be plenty of bryozans and such. Thank you, that would be very nice! I am already really excited to go! Okay, Then I'll try and take some matrix to search later, love to go through all that matrix to find microfossils! 1 Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science! Professional exotic pet keeper, huge fantasy geek, explorer of the microfossil realm, member of the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology), Volunteer prepper at Oertijdmuseum Boxtel. View my collection topic here: The Growing Collection of Ziggycardon My animal collection at the "Members pet" topic Ziggycardon's exploration of the microfossil realm Trips to Eben Emael (Maastrichtian of Belgium) My latest fossil hunt Next project will be a dedicated prepping space. "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeri_R Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Proficiat Welcome to the BVP! I'm looking forward to meeting you there! I see practically everything has been said already about Eben-Emael. But I'd like to add that you can sometimes find fossilized scissors of crabs. I found two pieces when I was there last time. I'm looking forward to go there again. Always something to find there. It's my first time I go with BVP. I went there two times when you could still ask permission by letter. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggycardon Posted July 30, 2019 Author Share Posted July 30, 2019 On 13-7-2019 at 11:39 PM, Joeri_R said: Proficiat Welcome to the BVP! I'm looking forward to meeting you there! I see practically everything has been said already about Eben-Emael. But I'd like to add that you can sometimes find fossilized scissors of crabs. I found two pieces when I was there last time. I'm looking forward to go there again. Always something to find there. It's my first time I go with BVP. I went there two times when you could still ask permission by letter. Thank you, I look forward to meet you too there! And those crab pincers and legs are pretty awesome, they have quite a few in the natural history museum in Maastricht, I do hope I get lucky enough to find some of my own! Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science! Professional exotic pet keeper, huge fantasy geek, explorer of the microfossil realm, member of the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology), Volunteer prepper at Oertijdmuseum Boxtel. View my collection topic here: The Growing Collection of Ziggycardon My animal collection at the "Members pet" topic Ziggycardon's exploration of the microfossil realm Trips to Eben Emael (Maastrichtian of Belgium) My latest fossil hunt Next project will be a dedicated prepping space. "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 Almost time to go to Eben Emael I just hope the weather forcast will change by then 1 growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggycardon Posted August 14, 2019 Author Share Posted August 14, 2019 On 13-8-2019 at 2:09 PM, Manticocerasman said: Almost time to go to Eben Emael I just hope the weather forcast will change by then Yeah! I am looking forward for it! And yes, let's hope for a day with less rain than the forcast predicts. Did anyone already recieve the email with the details of the excursion? Where to meet and at what time? Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science! Professional exotic pet keeper, huge fantasy geek, explorer of the microfossil realm, member of the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology), Volunteer prepper at Oertijdmuseum Boxtel. View my collection topic here: The Growing Collection of Ziggycardon My animal collection at the "Members pet" topic Ziggycardon's exploration of the microfossil realm Trips to Eben Emael (Maastrichtian of Belgium) My latest fossil hunt Next project will be a dedicated prepping space. "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Good luck all. We expect to see some fantastic finds! Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalie81 Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 3 hours ago, ziggycardon said: Yeah! I am looking forward for it! And yes, let's hope for a day with less rain than the forcast predicts. Did anyone already recieve the email with the details of the excursion? Where to meet and at what time? Mail Mail was send a hour ago See you there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggycardon Posted August 14, 2019 Author Share Posted August 14, 2019 48 minutes ago, Natalie81 said: Mail was send a hour ago See you there! Yepp, I just found it with my emails as well! A few weeks ago I drove to the way around the quarry to see where the possible meet up could be, and I am glad that it is where I thought it would. I am really excited for it, let's hope the dig yields some cool fossils. I am going to buy the last few equipment items I need tomorrow and then I am all set. Looking forward to meet you all! 4 hours ago, FossilDAWG said: Good luck all. We expect to see some fantastic finds! Don I will definiatly do, will try to take some pictures with my cellphone in the quarry and I will ofcourse post my findings (if any) on the forum here! 1 Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science! Professional exotic pet keeper, huge fantasy geek, explorer of the microfossil realm, member of the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology), Volunteer prepper at Oertijdmuseum Boxtel. View my collection topic here: The Growing Collection of Ziggycardon My animal collection at the "Members pet" topic Ziggycardon's exploration of the microfossil realm Trips to Eben Emael (Maastrichtian of Belgium) My latest fossil hunt Next project will be a dedicated prepping space. "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggycardon Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 Does anyone who already hunted at Eben Emael know whether the K-Pg boundary is visable in the quarry? I would like to make some photos and if possible collect some samples of it. Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science! Professional exotic pet keeper, huge fantasy geek, explorer of the microfossil realm, member of the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology), Volunteer prepper at Oertijdmuseum Boxtel. View my collection topic here: The Growing Collection of Ziggycardon My animal collection at the "Members pet" topic Ziggycardon's exploration of the microfossil realm Trips to Eben Emael (Maastrichtian of Belgium) My latest fossil hunt Next project will be a dedicated prepping space. "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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