A Very Big Trilobite

The Wren’s Nest/Castle Hill site near Dudley in the West Midlands is one of the most important sites anywhere in the world for Silurian fossils.  At this location there are superb exposures of Middle Silurian strata (Wenlock and lower Ludlow series).  Coal seams in the surrounding hills date from the later Middle Carboniferous.  The lime and coal at this location made this part of England a focal point for the industrial revolution.

There are lots of fossils to be found too, including trilobites.

A Commemorative Plaque Recognising the Significance of Wren’s Nest

A trilobite plaque at the Wren's nest SSSI (Dudley).
A trilobite plaque at the Wren’s nest SSSI (Dudley, West Midlands). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

For models and replicas of iconic animals from the fossil record including trilobite models: Learning – Replicas of Fossils and Models of Prehistoric Animals.

Part of the motif is an inscription it reads:

“Scour the ground for geological litter my feet drenched in an ancient sea.”

The fossils preserved at Wren’s Nest represent marine life on an ancient reef system which is around 420 to 425 million years old.  This an amazing (and free) place to visit, a beautiful nature reserve that was designated Britain’s first National Nature Reserve for geology back in 1956.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

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