March 21st - Jurassic rocks in Oxfordshire

Because of the popularity of this field trip, we have increased the size of the coach, so if you would still like to come, please contact John by email or 'phone 0117 9862529.
If you would like a hand-out before the visit, please contact Elizabeth by email.

Jurassic rocks of Oxfordshire
Kirtlington Quarry SSSI - go back in time to a Jurassic environment similar to the Florida Everglades today. These conditions attracted many animals, and the quarry is famous for its rich diversity of fossils. Evidence for the presence of nearby land is provided by the presence of fossil wood, freshwater algae and crustaceans, disarticulated dinosaur skeletons and very rare mammal fossils. It is the richest mammal-bearing locality of Middle Jurassic age known anywhere in the world.

Rock Edge Quarry - Upper Jurassic coral-rich limestone. Similar conditions to those found in the Bahama Banks today are believed to have existed at the time. Here the Coral Rag is rich in fossil remains, derived from coral reefs that formed in the ancient shelf sea.

 Dry Sandford Pit, Cothill The pit exposes part of a sequence of the Corallian Beds, limestone rocks deposited during the Middle Oxfordian Stage of the Jurassic, some 140 million years ago, in shallow coastal waters close to coral reefs. The layered rock succession seen here includes parts of three main units of the Corallian.