That shelf collapse at the Burgess Shale dig site saved our fossils

I was up at the Walcott Quarry in BC last August, working a small section near the base. My hand went right through a loose shale layer and suddenly a whole shelf of rock slid down about 3 feet. Instead of losing everything, the slab cracked open and exposed a perfect Olenoides trilobite that was hidden inside. We bagged up the pieces and got it back to the lab in Calgary within 48 hours. The prep team said the fresh break actually made extraction way easier than if we'd tried to chisel it out. Has anyone else had a rock collapse turn into a lucky find like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim_nelson18h agoTop Commenter

Wow, that's wild. Did the prep team say anything about pyrite damage on the fresh surface?

taylor8217h ago

I read pyrite can crack and crumble when exposed to humidity changes.