FROM PALAEONTOLOGICAL PIECES TO GEOLOGICAL GENIUS.

An Amateur Palaeontologist's Story of Success.
By Bob Williams.

To begin with, it should be stated that I possess absolutely no geological qualifications at all. Yes, I have an Honours Degree, but that is in Zoology and is over 25 years old. My profession has been far from zoological. However, there has always been an interest in fossils and, ultimately, that led me to membership of the Essex Rock and Mineral Society and really, it is from there that all my geological knowledge has come. On first joining the society, I was very much a novice with only a very small collection of fossils, (or Palaeontological Pieces). Society membership led to the development of acquaintances and friendships and it wasn’t long before proper field work was undertaken, leading to the growth of skills and collections.

One particular member, Derek Breden, was a local and often related stories about material he had found at a nearby inland excavation in a deposit known as the London Clay. He had acquired an impressive collection of fossil crabs from the site and, needless to say, I had to get some. An invitation to join him was speedily accepted and an introduction was made to the site. The site, at Ongar in southwest Essex, revealed a large excavation in London Clay underlying some much more recent Boulder Clay and glacial deposits. The London Clay was being used in the manufacture of a lightweight clay aggregate called LECA but production of this material was being terminated and the site was being used as a landfill site and the excavation was being slowly backfilled and landscaped. The site is now no longer accessible.

As time passed, so a variety of crabs and lobsters were found. Also found were Nautiloids, crinoids, molluscs and an occasional, but rare, fish skull. A member of staff at the site referred me to another similar site at which he had recently been employed by the same company. This site was at Aveley, also in Essex, down near the River Thames but closer to home. Arrangements were made and an introductory visit to the Aveley site was executed. What was visible there was quite stunning. Another large pit in the same deposit was being actively excavated and it wasn’t long before all the necessary permissions had been acquired. The pit at that location was some 38 metres in depth and was being excavated in wide terraces. The site was also a landfill site and the clay that was excavated from terraces on the east side of the pit, was being transported round to the west side of the pit where it was being re-deposited over quantities of domestic and non-industrial waste. The continuous excavation was yielding an uninterrupted supply of fossils just ready and waiting for collection. Access to the site proved to be uninterrupted and movement within it was virtually unrestricted provided active digging machinery and vehicles on the move were not approached.

Over 8 years, an enormous collection of crustacea (crabs and lobsters), molluscs (gastropods, bivalves and nautiloids), crinoids(sea lilies), echinoids (starfish), corals, brachiopods, fish skeletal remains, shark teeth and reptile (sea snake) remains were acquired. Knowledge about the geology of the site was also increased. One specimen, (a fish skull), was new to science and has now been deposited with the Natural History Museum in London, along with much other material, and rare species were also amongst those found. Many specimens were first records for the site. The site had been discovered many years earlier and publications dating back to 1964, when the discovery of ‘The Aveley Elephants’ made the headlines, have been checked. The ‘Aveley Elephants’ were associated skeletons of the ‘Woolly Mammoth’, Mammuthus primigenius, and the ‘Straight Tusked Elephant’, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, which were found in glacial deposits overlying and channelling into the London Clay. The site was then being worked by the Tunnel Portland Cement Company and clay was being extracted for use in cement production. In the late 1970’s, cement production was ceased and the site fell into disuse and was allowed to get overgrown. In the 1980’s the site was sold and many palaeontologists thought that it had ceased to be productive. In the late 1980’s, the site reopened as a landfill site and excavations recommenced. It appeared that I was the only person with palaeontological knowledge to know about it, so I took advantage of the situation. I was only able to trace limited literature on the London Clay fossil fauna of the site and it occurred to me that with the knowledge that I had built up, I could write my own paper. So I did. I had the necessary knowledge of the fossil fauna, relative fossil populations, fossil abundance and stratigraphy of the site. I wrote a 30 page paper, submitted it for assessment, had it accepted and, I have now been informed, it is being printed as I write this. Watch this space …………… My family name will now be read along with the likes of Blezard (1966 and 1973), Cooper (1972), King (1981), and Kirby (1974). Regrettably, the site is no longer available, having been backfilled and landscaped, but my information will be. For me, this has been my graduation into palaeontology. From Palaeontological Pieces to Geological Genius, one might say.