Fossil Shops - Erfoud - Morocco

[Tidgy's Dad]

19 hours ago, Al Tahan said:

I want to say the way the trilobites are more piled on each other makes it look more authentic. Are they known to cluster like that in these formations? Pretty amazing if they can indeed be found in such insane death assemblages.........

 

Really amazing trip! My sister went to Morocco when she lived abroad in Spain and told me about the insane amount of fossils everywhere...I kinda get it now  

 

thanks for posting this! Really great look into the Moroccan fossil commerce. 

 

They certainly do occur like this sometimes. I think these are real, but didn't examine the pieces closely. 

Thanks for posting on my thread. 

[Tidgy's Dad]

There are some nice genuine pieces here, I think :

[Tidgy's Dad]

The main sales room :

Some gypsum products bottom left in this one :

 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

If you zoom in, you can make  out the prices on these items. 

Divide by ten to have a rough price in dollars. 

Remember, I was offered everything at half the marked price. And then one could haggle. But I didn't buy anything.

Sadly, it seems Anouar was keener on doing close-ups of crystals than fossils, so here's some rose quartz : 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Back to the fossils : 

Here is some material from the phosphate deposits at Khouribga.

Make up your own minds..........

[dalmayshun]

So very nice of you to take us on tour. For me it is a place I would never otherwise see. It is wonderful, and incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed this post, along with the posts from your recent trip.Thanks so very much. 

[Tidgy's Dad]

54 minutes ago, dalmayshun said:

So very nice of you to take us on tour. For me it is a place I would never otherwise see. It is wonderful, and incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed this post, along with the posts from your recent trip.Thanks so very much. 

Very kind of you to say so. 

I'm glad you're enjoying them. 

Here's some more items from the shop :

Often I'm not sure what's real, what's not and what's composited, but I absolutely loved these jellyfish below. They are found near Erfoud, and i think these are the real deal. But I couldn't really spend anymore with wifey's birthday coming up in a couple of days time.

But these were my favourites, i think.

 

I like the echinoids even if they are modern.

And some nice ammonites :

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Trilobites, as usual some are dodgy, some composited, some good : 

You see them on these blue plastic circular bases quite a lot on the internet too: 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

But now it was time to say goodbye to the shop, which was just as well as I was terribly confused, and head off to our next destination.

Bye Bye! 

See you in the next thread, I hope, gentle reader. 

[Harry Pristis]

 

Shelves!  When I visited the little shops in Erfoud, the fossils were offered on the floor.  This is progress

 

.

[Bobby Rico]

Hi Adam did you commission this giant cheese grater. 

 

The jellyfish disc? things are fantastic. Mrs R years ago gave me a specimen. It was the weirdest fossils she could find and though it would make as an unusual  and fun gift.  I really like it. I have the location as the Kataoua Formation but I don’t know more than that or if it is right. 

[Tidgy's Dad]

11 hours ago, Harry Pristis said:

 

Shelves!  When I visited the little shops in Erfoud, the fossils were offered on the floor.  This is progress

 

Indeed. 

We're very technologically advanced nowadays. 

But you can still find little shops and people's homes that have fossils in boxes or against the wall.

Actually, i was in one guy's house here in Fes yesterday, who had his collection of trilobites, ammonites and geodes in shoe boxes. 

This is still a much better way of getting stuff. 

10% of the price in the stores   

[Tidgy's Dad]

2 hours ago, Bobby Rico said:

Hi Adam did you commission this giant cheese grater. 

The jellyfish disc? things are fantastic. Mrs R years ago gave me a specimen. It was the weirdest fossils she could find and though it would make as an unusual  and fun gift.  I really like it. I have the location as the Kataoua Formation but I don’t know more than that or if it is right. 

Yes, I commissioned it. It also doubles as a storage rack for very small hats.

Lovely jellyfish! 

It is often listed as Eldonia berberi and is Upper Ordovician Kataoua Formation probably from somewhere between Erfoud and Alnif. 

Actually, I'm not certain it is a jellyfish, it's often just listed under 'Problematica'  

Say hi to Mrs. R. 

What a brilliant gift. 

[Rowboater]

Thanks again for this spectacular thread!  I'll dream about this stuff tonight!

[Tidgy's Dad]

7 minutes ago, Rowboater said:

Thanks again for this spectacular thread!  I'll dream about this stuff tonight!

Thanks.

I have nightmares about some of it. 

[ober]

This has been a remarkably enjoyable thread. Thanks for all you work putting this together and sharing it with us. Tom

[Tidgy's Dad]

Thanks, Tom! 

It's been a pleasure, it really has. 

[Bobby Rico]

I agree it has definitely been one of my favourite threads.  

[Tidgy's Dad]

3 hours ago, Bobby Rico said:

I agree it has definitely been one of my favourite threads.  

Cheers, mate! 

[Wrangellian]

Another great tour, Adam. I think we've been waiting for years for this here on TFF, and now we've got it.

I would be hard pressed to not blow my budget in the first place I went into, assuming I was confident enough to distinguish the real from the fake. I just wish someone would teach those guys how to tastefully prep stuff. Why dig trenches around all the ammonites on that big plate, instead of just exposing them and making it look like they're laying on the seafloor or beach?? It's like someone handed a child a raw fossil and a scribe and said "here, fill your boots!"  It looks like they're making hoodoos out of them for some reason.

That big starfish is a curious item just above there next to a big trilobite...

I've got a couple of the Eldonias and my label (if it isn't already out of date again) says 'Discophyllum berberum', and concurs with (Upper) Ktaoua Fm, U. Ordo., L. Rawtheyan.  Again, why must they dig trenches around those? I saw a Duslia arthropod from the Ktaoua on the usual online site that would have been nice and I would have bought it but for the fact that it was marred by an unnecessary outline done with a scribe (or nail?). %$#@

I hope you make it to the Fezouata area sometime! We need a tour of that place.

[Tidgy's Dad]

1 hour ago, Wrangellian said:

Another great tour, Adam. I think we've been waiting for years for this here on TFF, and now we've got it.

I would be hard pressed to not blow my budget in the first place I went into, assuming I was confident enough to distinguish the real from the fake. I just wish someone would teach those guys how to tastefully prep stuff. Why dig trenches around all the ammonites on that big plate, instead of just exposing them and making it look like they're laying on the seafloor or beach?? It's like someone handed a child a raw fossil and a scribe and said "here, fill your boots!"  It looks like they're making hoodoos out of them for some reason.

That big starfish is a curious item just above there next to a big trilobite...

I've got a couple of the Eldonias and my label (if it isn't already out of date again) says 'Discophyllum berberum', and concurs with (Upper) Ktaoua Fm, U. Ordo., L. Rawtheyan.  Again, why must they dig trenches around those? I saw a Duslia arthropod from the Ktaoua on the usual online site that would have been nice and I would have bought it but for the fact that it was marred by an unnecessary outline done with a scribe (or nail?). %$#@

I hope you make it to the Fezouata area sometime! We need a tour of that place.

Thank you! 

I hope to go to the Fezouata at some point. It's certainly near the top of my list. I want a Marella! or two! 

I have no idea why they dig these trenches around stuff, but it must be that they think they sell better like that. Perhaps they do, to non-fossil collectors. 

I haven't checked up on the Eldonia/ Discophyllum thing, and probably won't until I get one for my collection! 

I should be getting another couple of trilos from the Fezouata this month or next, the guy's reserved them for me, but I won't be back to his dad's house, where they await for a while. Only 15 dollars each and they're pretty good and I haven't haggled yet. 

[Wrangellian]

Perhaps, but I don't know why a non-fossil collector would want one of those featureless pancakes on a rock! I just wish/hope that more tourists who get to meet the preparators (if at all) will not be afraid to suggest they don't do that. I will n ever get that chance...

The Fezouata trilos sound interesting.... and tempting to ask if I can put an order in!  

[Tidgy's Dad]

45 minutes ago, Wrangellian said:

Perhaps, but I don't know why a non-fossil collector would want one of those featureless pancakes on a rock! I just wish/hope that more tourists who get to meet the preparators (if at all) will not be afraid to suggest they don't do that. I will n ever get that chance...

The Fezouata trilos sound interesting.... and tempting to ask if I can put an order in!  

The guy only has the two, but I've asked him if he can get hold of others at the same sort of cost plus anything else from the Fezouata,  anything that's any sort of fossil would be of interest to me.

I'll bear you in mind!

 

[Wrangellian]

23 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

The guy only has the two, but I've asked him if he can get hold of others at the same sort of cost plus anything else from the Fezouata,  anything that's any sort of fossil would be of interest to me.

I'll bear you in mind!

 

Yes... I like all the same types of thing as you do, as you know! (which from that time period/formation would be practically anything)

[Tidgy's Dad]

12 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

Yes... I like all the same types of thing as you do, as you know! (which from that time period/formation would be practically anything)

Quite.

Anything and everything!