What do dinosaur bones, ancient sea creatures, Jurassic limestones and traditional building stone all have in common?
You can discover the answer at our forthcoming Rockwatch field trip to Daglingworth Quarry on Saturday 27th June.
Nestled in the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside near Cirencester, Daglingworth Quarry offers a remarkable window into life around 170 million years ago. The quarry exposes thick sequences of Middle Jurassic limestone, allowing geologists to read Earth’s history layer by layer.
Our guide for the day, Alex Ayling, will help Rockwatchers uncover the stories hidden within these rocks. We’ll explore how the limestones formed beneath warm tropical seas and discover the evidence left behind by the creatures that lived there.
The quarry’s famous “Dagstone” building stone contains fascinating trace fossils made by ancient burrowing animals, while the rock layers also preserve a wealth of marine fossils including sea urchins, brachiopods and bivalves.
Perhaps most exciting of all, Daglingworth is one of Gloucestershire’s most important dinosaur localities. Fossils linked to the giant plant-eating Cetiosaurus and the fearsome predator Megalosaurus have been found here, making this an exciting destination for any young palaeontologist.
As we move through the quarry, we’ll also learn how geologists use stratigraphy to understand changing environments through time and discover how modern quarrying helps reveal these ancient secrets.
This is a fantastic opportunity to visit a working quarry, learn from an expert geologist and see some of Gloucestershire’s Jurassic history up close.
Places are limited to just 30 participants, so we encourage members to book early.
We look forward to exploring this remarkable geological site with you.
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