East Mersea fossils and fossil collecting
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 Mersea Island is not that well signposted, and the only practical way of accessing it is right through the middle of colchester. Therefore maps, or better GPS would be ideal for visiting the island.
Once on the island, there is only two ways to go, West to the main town, or East to the more scenic areas.
Head East, following the road through until you reach a bend with 'Cudmore Grove Country Park', signposted ahead. Take this road and it will lead to a large car park. From here, walk to the shore and head South West (To the Right).
GRID REF: 51.79041°N, 0.99496°E
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Fossils from the London Clay are not that common, although collecting during spring and autumn scouring will be more productive. This location is however, well documented for small mammals from the Pleistocene deposits, especially when wet sieving samples.
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Suitable for Children
East Mersea is suitable for children, there is also plenty of green land to play on, picnic areas, toliets and a sandy area on te beach, but please keep when away from the mud flaps. |
Good Access
Once onto the island, it is good access, with toilets, a cafe and picnic area at the car park. Car park fees are only £2.00 for all day, which is excellent value and covers the cost of running the site. Getting to the island through colchester is the only challenge. |
Foreshore, Cliffs
Most fossils are found in the foreshore by searching in the shingle areas or London Clay mud flaps. Some of these flaps can be dangerous, to stick to the harder clay areas.
Samples can be taken from the foreshore pleistocene channels for sieving at home, which is rich in small mammals. |
No Restrictions
There are no restrictions at this site, but please follow our code of conduct below. |
Common sense when collecting at all locations should be taken and knowledge of tide times should always be noted. At East Mersea, the main danger is the mud flats. Please take extra care when looking for fossils on the foreshore London Clay, some areas can be dangerous. Do not venture too far. Generally you can see the hard areas as the clay is well exposed, but areas of soft mud are sometimes in between the clay. |
Last updated:
last visited:
Written by: |
10/08/08
2008
Alister and Alison Cruickshanks
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The vast majority of people visiting this site, will be interested in the London Clay exposures, at the western end of the cliff at East Mersea. The most common find as with all London Clay sites is shark teeth, although the site is not very productive for them.
East Mersea is however, well documented for its pleistocene deposits which are rich in small mammals. These deposits form a channel near to Cudmore Grove Country Park on the foreshore, and if you sieve samples you can find many rodent species. These are from the Pleistocene interglacial dating from OIS9. Freshwater mollusc's are also common.
Further west, another deposit dating from OIS5 contains Hippopotamus remains, and occurs under beach-sand. Keep an eye out for Bronze Age flint artifacts which can also be found at East Mersea.
Shark tooth found in the London Clay
Horse Jaw found by Lewis Shead
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The foreshore at East Mersea has extensive London Clay deposits, forming the Mersea Flaps which are a haven for birds and other wildlife.
East Mersea is also well documented for its pleistocene interglacial sediments. A channel filled with these sediments dates from OIS9 and is exposed on the foreshore at Cudmore Grove Country Park.
Further west, a second deposit, from the OIS5 interglacial stafe, has yielded Hippopotamus remains and occurs under beach-sand,...[more]
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Other locations similar to East Mersea
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If you are interested in other similar locations in the area and of which have London Clay, try Levington, Nacton, Ramsholt, Bognor Regis, or Bawdsey, in Suffolk or Maylandsea, Walton-on-Naze or Burnham on Crouch in Essex, or Sheppey in Kent
If you like collecting sharks teeth you could also try Bracklesham Bay, Herne Bay, Barton-on-Sea or Milford-on-sea which are also of the
Eocene age. For similar plesitocene deposits where mammals can be found, try Stutton in suffolk. |
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Geological Tools |
Microscopes |
Test Sieves for Microfossils |
We sell a wide range of geological tools from our online store. These include hammers, chisels, and pick.
We also sell starter packs with everything you need to start fossil collecting.
Our online store includes books and publications on fossils and geology, and a range of geological maps on the East Mersea area.
We have over 10,000 items for sale, covering almost every aspect of geology and fossils.
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At East Mersea, you can find small mammals and fresh water shells from pleistocene deposits. We recommend wet sieving on site, then taking the samples back home to examine with a microscope. This enables you to take more sample home which will have a higher concentration of fossils.
We have a wide range of microscopes for sale, you will need a Stereo microscope for viewing microfossils. The best one we sell is the IMXZ, but a basic microscope will be fine. Once you have found microfossils, you will need to store these microfossils.
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Test Sieves are used when searching for microfossils. We recommend that you use a test sieve with water at different levels. Test sieves for pleistocene deposits at East Mersea should be 500 microns.
Our UKGE Store sells Endecotts Test Sieves, which are the highest in accuracy and extremely durable and long lasting. These Test Sieves are fantastic for microfossils. Endecotts Test Sieves come in a variety of sizes, frame material and types, they are fully certificated to EU Standards. |
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