Wickwar.org

Just recently I have been ‘digging around’ for some interesting facts about our area.  It appears that quarries are on the agenda quite frequently. Many interesting things are found in quarries and they are very often undisturbed havens for wildlife, especially birds.

But this is about dinosaurs.  The Bristol Dinosaur.  Thecodontosaurus Antiquus.

According to sources the remains of a specimen was found at the Tytherington Quarry, and this is a very good specimen.  A quarry worker, Mike Curtis, spots bones in a cave deposit at Grovesend Quarry. Subsequently, bone-bearing rock is donated to the University of Bristol.

The special type of rock that contains the bones is called a ‘cave deposit’. At the time of the Late Triassic, caves formed in the underlying Carboniferous limestone and filled up with rubble to form this new rock. Occasionally,
remains of animals became part of this newly formed rock. Quarries cut into these old cave-systems and so the fossils are found. The Bristol Dinosaur Project is starting work on the rocks in storage.  At our Wickwar Quarry, some isolated teeth have been found there but Wickwar is more famous for some ancient mammals and lizards.

You must go and see the display on at the Bristol City Museum.  Many thanks have to be given to Remmert Schouten, Bristol City Museum and Liz Loeffler, Bristol University for taking the time to give us this fantastic information.
You might like to try this web site http://www.bristoldinosaur.com/project-history.html.