Fossil Dig Diaries

2004 Volunteer Of The Year

Having the opportunity to be a volunteer at a natural history museum.The front desk is one of the most interesting and educational aspects i have ever experienced.Greeting and getting to know the people that come for a tour or volunteer there time to give support is why i'am enjoying my part as a volunteer.I'am a member of the museum and having a certificate of completion for six hours of fossil preparation and cleaning,intitles entrance into the paleo lab to clean marine fossils from the miocene period,sift through matrix under a microscope to look for microfossils.

April 2006

After three field trips to Sharktooth Hill sea bed layer from the Miocene Epoch 12-15 million years ago.Which is on private property,digging down to the bone bed by using a shovel then hammering under the bed lifting up,big pieces of matrix break off then sifting through it you will find marine fossils. I found some agatized sharks teeth and a sea lion tooth, ear bone from a porpoise and lots of bone fragments.

May 2006

After two more trips to Sharktooth Hill,due to the overburden of soil over head many diggers over time have dug into the hill having created a dangerous situation to continue digging in certain areas.These two times i took a pick,shovel,sifting box besides the other tools.Starting my own hole in the hill took about two hours to reveal the sea bed also looking for a green tint then you known your in the right layer.For the next three hours is used to go through your diggings.My digging trips has required moveing a lot of overburden to get to the seabed.On one of these digs found only two shark teeth, some bone fragments not all trips turn out the way you would like.Took another trip to SharkTooth Hill,a few other diggers turned out also.Found shark teeth,whale vertebrate,one small concretion nodule but very heavy for it's size.I know the danger of digging around to much overburden.With a split second to react to avoid about four hundred pounds of overburden from falling on me.Another trip to SharkTooth Hill ,moving to the other side of the hill found some nice orange colored other wise know as fire zone teeth.Also rib bones from a dolphin or porpoise.Had a good dig today moved to another part of SharkTooth Hill found 15 multicolored teeth from a 1/4 inch-1 1/2 long.Seen some other people digging too.

June 2006

Today's dig was the hottest of the year around 95 degress.My dig site is on the north side of the hill,so around 1 pm there is shade inside the dig after the sun goes beyond the peak of the hill.Some diggers use a tarp over there dig site for shade.I screened the matrix from the last dig for most of the day.Found six nice teeth for two hours of screening.

July 2006

Very hot today on the hill around 105 degress may be awhile before returning to dig,wait for cooler weather.Found a bony fish vertebrate covered in manganese,Concretion nodules.Lots of nice teeth being found in the bone bed layer.

August 2006

Two more trips in the later part of the month,weather a little cooler.Still finding nice fire zone,multi-colored teeth.Next month will be starting a new dig site,getting to much over burden to remove.Also made some sharkteeth necklaces for my friends and myself.

September 2006

This month was to hot to do any digging,cooler weather will be starting sometime next month.

March 2007

Made another long awaited trip to Sharktooth Hill arrived around 6 am.The weather was nice around 80 degress,a slight breeze.This was one of those days when i only found two teeth(fire zone color)less than one inch,found several others but were rotten.Over all still had a good time.Next trip could reveal a real treasure,like a fossilized megalodon shark tooth.Cool misty weather and cloudy skies for digging today,day two this month at Sharktooth Hill.There was three people from out of town digging on the ridge across from me.On this day finding three good teeth, four root rotted teeth.Dug up one of only a few,2 1/4 inch big tooth mako.The martix surrounding the root was super hard,for about an hour using a dental pick carefully removing the matrix.Day three,cool and cloudy weather.The wildlife are enjoying today,rabbits-ground squirrels-crows-red tails hawks-lizards-scorpions-sheep-beetles.Dug up several small teeth most were mako teeth.

April 2007

Cloudy and cool weather, perfect for digging.I try to pick days like today to arrange my trips.Found seventeen shark teeth,only seven were worth keeping the others were rotten or broken.

May 2007

I'ts the end of the month the weather is getting hot,air quality is very poor.Digging is over for now summer will soon be here.

September 2007

The weather is getting cooler by the day a major drop in temps are expected later this month,air quality is very poor.

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Designer:Joseph Phipps