Identification

[jmalloy]

i am not a particular enthusiast for fossils although i do have a few

but

this week my spade hit something in my new houses garden whilst preparing a deep flowerbed for topsoil

it appears to be shale and inside it are in various depths microns thick flat shell like fossils

on the obverse (shown here) is also a impression of an ammonite

and on the reverse is a very faint ammonite

i am wondering about whether it is local or foreign there is a river down the hill about a mile but i realize in those times that probably wasn't there

my thought is that it is foreign as the soil round the most of Devon (my garden is no exception) is very rich red ochre and thus all sedimentary rocks are colored red also

i am in east Devon in the united kingdom

i know for sure about the geology of the area surrounding as there are numerous china clay pits

here is the aannotated enhanced contrast photo and a link to the full sized (cropped) image for further inspection.

Full sized Image

thank you for your help

[Mike Owens]

Looks like blue shell with what appears to be fern leaf imprints. As to how it would have gotten from the clay (shell) pits to your red, woodbine-type. soil I haven't a clue. Maybe one of our English members, perhaps Fiona, can help you out. Oh --- & welcome to the forum.

Mike

[Harry Pristis]

i am not a particular enthusiast for fossils although i do have a few

but

this week my spade hit something in my new houses garden whilst preparing a deep flowerbed for topsoil

it appears to be shale and inside it are in various depths microns thick flat shell like fossils

on the obverse (shown here) is also a impression of an ammonite

and on the reverse is a very faint ammonite

i am wondering about whether it is local or foreign there is a river down the hill about a mile but i realize in those times that probably wasn't there

my thought is that it is foreign as the soil round the most of Devon (my garden is no exception) is very rich red ochre and thus all sedimentary rocks are colored red also

i am in east Devon in the united kingdom

i know for sure about the geology of the area surrounding as there are numerous china clay pits

here is the aannotated enhanced contrast photo and a link to the full sized (cropped) image for further inspection.

thank you for your help

Welcome to the forum, JMalloy.

You're probably right. What's the history of your property? Every rock collector has a "rock garden" for specimens too interesting to leave in the field, but not interesting enough to preserve in his collector cabinet. That may be the explanation for this bit of shale in your garden. Or, a rockhound may have grown up in the house, moved away, and family disposed of the specimens left behind. It's unlikely you'll ever know the reason for the anomalous specimen in your garden.

--------Harry Pristis

[MOROPUS]

MMMMMM!!! it looks to me very similar to pieces of some kind of Hippurites shell (¿?), but not vegetal, due to the strange gloss of the rests.

[jmalloy]

thanks everyone for your ids

and the warm welcome