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Triops Longicaudatus Red
Triops Longicaudatus
Triops Longicaudatus Red
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An inconspicuous place with world fame: the fossil treasure trove of Messel
Messel, Hesse. When you step up to the edge of the Messel Pit today, you don’t see anything spectacular at first: dense vegetation, small pools of water, an area reminiscent of an overgrown excavation site. It is hard to imagine that this piece of land near Darmstadt almost ended up as a landfill site in 1990; only a technicality in the planning documents and sustained protests saved the area. Today, the site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered one of the most important fossil deposits in the world.
Fossils in abundance
Its unassuming exterior is deceptive: beneath the surface lies a veritable treasure trove of palaeontology. For over 140 years, the Messel Pit has yielded sensational finds, from tiny insects and prehistoric birds to crocodile-like reptiles. Around 50,000 individual finds have already been documented, with around 3,000 more added each year. Particularly spectacular are the fossils of tiny primeval horses, which were once barely larger than a dachshund. Some mares died while pregnant, and the remains of their foetuses are still visible today.
‘Almost every stone holds a surprise,’ say palaeontologists. But not every specimen is recovered: common finds such as leaf imprints or small bones remain in the rock, while exceptionally well-preserved fossils find their way into collections.
The outstanding quality of the fossils is due to the special conditions in what was then the Messel Maar Lake. Forty-eight million years ago, fine-grained, oxygen-poor sludge settled at the bottom of the lake. It preserved animals and plants in such detail that even today, the finest structures of feathers, skin and even stomach contents are still visible.
The famous ‘Messel oil shale’, from which the former open-cast mine takes its name, protects the fossils when wet. But as soon as the rock dries out, it disintegrates – and with it the precious remains. That is why the finds are immediately stored in water and later fixed in synthetic resin.
Ida: A global star from prehistoric times
In 2009, researchers achieved a major breakthrough: the fossil of a small primate made headlines around the world. ‘Ida,’ as the animal was named, was not only almost completely preserved – even the imprints of her last meal, leaves and fruit, were visible. At around 48 million years old, Ida is considered one of the oldest known primate forms and provides important clues to the evolution of early mammals.
The Messel Pit is still an active research site today. Especially in summer, when new excavation areas are opened, visitors can take guided tours and watch palaeontologists carefully extract fossils from the crumbly oil shale.
Visitors to the site should not be fooled by its unassuming appearance: beneath every step lies a piece of geological history, preserved in dark rock and waiting to be discovered.
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