FOSSILS
Bristol's Fossil Heritage
Dundry Hill, on the borders of south Bristol and North Somerset, is internationally famous for its fossils, especially its ammonites. 
The fossils are about 180 million years old and date from the Jurassic period when this part of the country was a warm, shallow tropical sea full of sea life. When the sea animals died a layer of sediment built up over them and the hard parts, such as shells, were replaced with minerals. The minerals were deposited in an identical shape to the original animal and this process creates 
fossils. Dundry Stone has been used to build many of Bristol's buildings including St Mary Redcliffe and Dundry churches.
What we found
Young people from the BS13, The LAMP and E2E projects visited a fossil site on Dundry Hill with local geologist Simon Carpenter. Everyone found lots of fossils including ammonites, belemnites, corals and bivalves; Simon explained what they would have been like when they were alive.
Resources
- Bristol Museum has a large collection of fossils found on Dundry Tel 0117 9223571
- Avon RIGS (Regionally Important Geological Sites) have produced a leaflet on the best fossil rocks and landscapes around Bristol, which includes Dundry Hill. The group is co-ordinated by Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre Tel 0117 9532140
- M. Anning, Jurassic Coast Fossils, ISBN0907683835 approximately £1.50. This laminated leaflet identifies the different Ammonites.
To do a walk