Messel Pit
The Messel Pit is a disused quarry, in an ancient lake bed, in which bituminous shale was mined.
It has been named a WHS because it wealth of fossils (outstandingly preserved), the remains of organisms from the middle Eocene strata dating back 50 million years.
The first animal fossil remains discovered were that of a crocodile found in 1875. Subsequent excavations have led to the identification of 40 species.
Visit August 2006
 |
A proper visit to this WHS should consist of two parts: to the Messel Pit itself and to a museum where the fossils discovered there can be seen. So my day started in Darmstadt, at the Landesmuseum. There they have two (small) exhibitions on the Messel fossils. One with the bigger animals (like a crocodile) and one with the insects and other tiny animals. Especially on these you can still see the colouring which is so remarkable about the Messel findings.
After lunch, I drove to the Pit itself. There are signs to Messel from (parts of) Darmstadt: it's about 10 kms. For the guided tour about 50 to 60 people had gathered at the small infocenter. We even had to be split into groups: a remarkable large crowd for such an inconspicuous place. I had thought that only the WHS-addicts would make it here (a bit like the Neolithic Flint Mines in Belgium).
The story of the guides absolutely makes a visit worthwhile: without it I wouldn't advise going (the viewing platform doesn't tell you much about what has happened here). Only that way you can imagine the lake, its volcanic origins, the wild animals (even including a tapir) swimming or drinking, the rain forest, the mediterranean climate. And the special condition of the oil-shale lake bed, which made it possible to conserve the fossils so well.
The Pit's more recent history, from not-too-productive mine to (proposed) garbage dump to WHS and recovering biosphere, is an interesting story also.
More photos can be found in the Picture Gallery
Reviews
Ian Cade (England):
 This was a site that I really had no preparation for visiting and it was a split second decision at Darmstadt station that brought us here instead of Lorsch. What we didn’t realise was that the fossil site is not open between November and April.
When the information centre is closed you will be able to go to the viewing platform to look across the pit (picture). There is some information here and a high tech telescope, which can give you an overview of the site. That is about all you can see in the winter, so really is not worth the effort of getting to.
Fortunately the information centre is staffed by a group of very friendly scientists, who came out and spoke to us. We described why we were there; mentioning this web site, and they invited us in. They put on a video in German explaining more about the history of the site, showed us some geological samples, gave us books and coffee, and at the end of our visit they even drove us back to the station; so Vielen Dank Susana and co.
Inside the Information centre is the UNESCO certificate, behind a model of the small horses found in the mine. There is also a model of the new Visitors Centre that will be built in the next few years; it looks like a very impressive piece of architecture.
Messel has a small railway station, no real platform though, on the Darmstadt – Aschaffenburg line. It takes about 40 minutes to get to Messel from Frankfurt so is fairly easy to visit. From the station it is about a 20-minute walk (there is no bus) out of town to the south. There is a small cycling sign pointing in the right direction and there is a path next to the road through the forest, and there is a large sign at the turn off from the road.
I really enjoyed my visit here, mostly for the fantastic welcome and hospitality shown to us by the staff here. We did manage to get a good idea of the importance of the site from them and managed to see the pit itself, so I feel that I can count this as a proper visit even if we didn’t manage to get down into the site itself. |
| |
Martha Wiley (USA):
August 2005
If you like fossils, then call the folks at Messel (06159-717535) to schedule a tour of the fossil pits in German or English. The tour takes about one hour. The paleontologists speak excellent English. The tours are available on weekends from Easter until the end of October.
DON'T go unless you set up a tour, as there really is nothing to see without a guide. All you can do is walk about 200 meters to a viewing platform and look out over the large pit, but because it is an active mining area, and the shale is very unstable, people are not permitted to walk into the pit without a guide. After the tour, visit the Messel Museum in the village to see information about the industrial activities which occurred there, or the Landisches Museum in Darmstadt to see a terrific display about the fossils. (Of course, you can always skip the pit itself and head right for the museums; my husband said that was the way to go, but I thought the pit itself was worth a visit WITH a tour.)
Also, don't expect to see dinosaurs. These fossils are too recent for that. Instead, you will see whole crocodiles, turtles, fish, manatee bones, insects, and other things from the rain forest that was here 49 million years ago. I thought it was pretty cool! But, hey, I like that kind of stuff.
One final thing: in spite of what they say on their website about how easy it is to find, we had a very difficult time. Best thing is to take Dieberger Strasse out from Darmstadt Zentrum. The pit is about 10-12 km from the Zentrum. And don't depend on the brown signs; they are almost non-existent until you get right up to the turnoff for the pit. |
| Date posted: August 2005 |
Marcel (Germany):
In March 2005 I made three friends of mine stop by at Messel when we had a three day trip to Frankfurt and surroundings. Well, it was a nice sunny day and we could go the whole way (information tableaus about the Messel Pit Fossil Site along the way) to a platform from where we could see the pit. The info tableaus were quite good, but the pit itself was kind of disappointing. Unfortunately the museum wasn't open as we've been there on a weekday during winterbreak (until the end of March, from 1st April on it's also opened on various weekdays). All in all the pit itself isn't worth a visit, but the museum shall be nice. |
| Date posted: July 2005 |
Have you been to Messel Pit Fossil site? Share your experiences!
Add your own review
