Lisa works in the Public Programs Department at Melbourne Museum but also volunteers in the Palaeontology Department and has been on several fossil digs.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go on a dinosaur dig? Recently I went on a fossil-hunting adventure with a crew of 12 Museum Victoria staff and volunteers at a site called Eric the Red West in Cape Otway National Park.
120 million years ago this part of Australia was a river valley surrounded by forest. When the valley flooded, the remains of dinosaurs, small mammals, pterosaurs and forest plants (which became the coal that we see in the rock) were washed into the river. Eventually some of these bones, as well as those of animals such as fish and turtles that were living in the river, became covered by sand and mud. Over time the sediment became the grey sandstone that is exposed on beach today.
The crew heads down to the site.
Image: Lisa Nink
Source: Museum Victoria
When we first arrived on site we unloaded all of our gear and took it down onto the beach. Before we started any digging we prospected along the beach for fossils that were naturally exposed through weathering of the rock.
Left: Lesley Kool and Mary Walters in search of fossils weathering out of the rock. | Right: Part of a dinosaur limb bone.
Image: Lisa Nink
Source: Museum Victoria
Next it was time to bring out the heavier equipment to remove rock and search for fossils that were still buried. We used large rock saws, small electric saws, sledgehammers and chisels to remove large chunks of the fossil-bearing rock.
Travis removes sand from the rock with a shovel and Gerry removes chunks of rock with a sledge hammer and chisel.
Image: Liza Nink
Source: Museum Victoria
Left: David Pickering uses a small electric saw to delicately remove a fossil. | Right: Dr Erich Fitzgerald uses a larger rock saw to not so delicately (but precisely) remove a fossil.
Image: Lisa Nink
Source: Museum Victoria
When large chunks of rock have were removed and checked for fossils, the rest of the crew used smaller hammers and chisels to carefully break the rock down to sugar-cube sized pieces in search of tiny fossils.
Left: David Pickering uses a hand lens to inspect a newly exposed fossil. | Right: Astrid patiently chisels away at rock in search of delicate fossils.
Image: Lisa Nink
Source: Museum Victoria
And we were well rewarded for our efforts:
Dr Erich Fitzgerald points to a fossil fish jaw he has just discovered in the rock.
Image: Lisa Nink
Source: Museum Victoria
Despite the rain and cold it was a wonderful experience. My friends and colleagues often ask me, 'doesn't it get boring breaking rocks on a beach all day?' but it never does. You never know when the next strike of your hammer and chisel may reveal a new fossil that hasn't seen the light of day for 120 million years. You never know, it may even be a completely new species.
You can see some of the fossils that have been found along Victoria's coastline in 600 Million Years: Victoria evolves at Melbourne Museum.
Links:
Dinosaur Dreaming Blog
MV Blog: Dinosaur Dreaming Dig
Infosheet: Inverloch fossil site