Fossil Hunting in Middle Scotland
Most of the fossil bearing sites in the Midland and Grampian of Scotland area are along the Eastern coast. Here, the Carboniferous rocks yield plant remains, brachiopods, trilobite tracks, giant millipede tracks, corals and crinoids. Some of the best locations are East Wemyss, for plant remains and Crail. At Crail, fossil tree trunks in life position can be seen. Fife also has many locations to visit, being a previous coal mining area. |
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The sea regularly erodes a cliff of spoil from the now closed nearby Michael Coal Pit. This cliff contains many different carboniferous beds of which some highly fossiliferious plant and marine bands can be found scattered along the foreshore. |
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Giant millipede tracks, tree trunks in life position and many other fossils can be found to the South West of the pretty fishing village of Crail. |
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The volcanic rocks at Kinghorn are carboniferous sedimentary with Pyroclastic rocks and basalt flows intebedded. Within these rocks, corals and shells can be found. |
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There is plenty to see at St Monans, including raised beaches, an excellent example of a syncline, bedding planes packed with trace fossils, and whole layers of rock full of fossil corals and crinoids. |
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Some excellent Carboniferous plant fossils can be found at Anstruther if you can find the right type of rock and if you have the strength and determination to break them open and carry them off the beach. |
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There are two locations for fossils at Elie, the first is Elie Shore where during scouring conditions and winter months Brachiopods, Bivalves, Sponges and Trilobite fragments can be found. Nearby Wood Haven rocks also contain fossils. |
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Another location along this stretch of coastline where Carboniferous plant fossils can be found. The site is not as rich as others but is worth a visit none-the-less. |
 Cliff |
Fossils collected direct from cliff face |
 Foreshore |
Fossils collected from the foreshore |
 Cliff/Foreshore |
Fossils collected from the cliff and foreshore |
 Quarry |
Location is a quarry or pit |
 Stream |
Fossils collected from a stream or river bed, |
 Field |
Fossils collected from a farm field |
 Cutting |
Fossils collected from road or railway cutting. |
 Scree Slope |
Fossils collected from hill or mountain scree slope. |
 Rock Outcrop |
Fossils collected from rock outcrops. |
 Lake / Reservoir |
Fossils collected from lake or reservoir banks. |
 Microfossils |
Samples taken back for processing microfossils. |
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Fossils are common |
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Fossils often found |
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Fossils are not common |
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Fossils rarely found |
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Site protected, no collecting permitted, or no access to beach |
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Quaternary
Neogene
Palaeogene
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Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic |
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Permian
Carboniferous
Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian / Pre Cambrian |



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