I turned over a pebble on the shore at Chapman’s Pool in Dorset and found this lovely fragment of an ammonite fossil. The adjacent cliff strata, larger boulders, and the rock layers lying horizontally beneath the beach and the waters of the bay, contain many ammonites and other fossils. Some ammonites are huge and three dimensional, some are smaller and crushed so that the white shelly fragments are easily dispersed – leaving only an impression.
I think the fossil above is one of the best I have found that could actually be picked up. The others could only be photographed. The pictures below show where I found the ammonite – from the immediate context to the wider view. There are more postings and pictures of this beautiful bay. Click here for Chapman’s Pool category.
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Jessica's Nature Blog 
What an absolutely marvelous find! I would have been jumping up and down on the beach if I’d come across that 🙂
Ammonites are fascinating. I frequently wear a small one from Alberta, Canada on a necklace. In my dining room I have a large poster of one from our Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources.
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I love ammonites, too, but I rarely find anything worthy of collecting. Mostly, the ones I see are embedded in the rock. Sometimes these are really beautiful with Fool’s Gold replacing the original minerals in the shelly structure. Fossil hunting is a big thing on the Jurassic Coast. Ammonites are even the official logo for the town of Lyme Regis in Dorset. Fossil hunting trips are arranged in places like Charmouth – see http://www.fossilwalks.com/ and on Facebook at “Fossil Walks- Guided fossil hunting at Charmouth on the Jurassic Coast”.
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The ones with the Fool’s Gold would be gorgeous! Thank you for the link. I will have a look.
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Oooooo I’m silly for fossils. This one is lovely.
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The photos of the fossils are so interesting!
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Thank you. There are many interesting fossils along the Jurassic Coast.
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Were you able to take home?
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Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible. If I had taken home every beautiful pebble or fossil that I found on this glorious Jurassic Coast, I would have nowhere to keep them, and there would be fewer on the beach for other people to discover and enjoy.
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