The receding tide on the Essex Coast reveals fossils

 

Colchester Young Archaeologists' Club explore the beach as the tide recedes.
Before we ventured on to the beach to see what the receding tide had exposed, our expert explained we were exploring a site of special scientific interest. He explained that this part of the English coast had once been part of the continent and, apart from fossil shells exposed in the eroding Red Crag, the tide washed objects in from the near continent and further afield. The children had brought stones and fossils for him to identify and we looked round the visitor centre before we set off.
The ebbing tide had exposed the three coastal war time defences, seen in the picture. The massive cranes of Felixstowe deep water container dock can be seen in the distance. Our expert was soon in demand to identify the objects the children had picked up. As soon as they realised his skills, two students who were taking erosion measurements brought things they had discovered to identify. Once free from identifying objects others had found, our expert set to and exposed fossilised whale bones and sharks teeth in the rock pools. 


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