Fossil fans invited to special King's Stanley event as experts return to Jurassic dig site

Residents are being invited to meet leading fossil experts, see exciting new discoveries and have their own finds identified at a special public engagement evening in King's Stanley this July.

The event, Fossil Fishing at the Farm, will take place on Friday 17 July from 6pm to 8pm at The Rest at Court Farm, Broad Street, King's Stanley. It marks the end of a new excavation by renowned palaeontologists Dr Neville Hollingworth BEM and Sally Hollingworth BEM, Nigel Larkin and an international multi-disciplinary team including students from five universities.

The excavation follows the internationally significant discoveries made at Court Farm in 2022, including the famous three-dimensional "eye-popping" Pachycormus fish, which attracted widespread media attention.

Now the team is returning to the site in search of more prehistoric material for further research and wants to share their experience.

Museum in the Park Documentation and Collections Officer Zoë Wilcox, who will be attending the excavation and public event, said: 

"The support and interest from the local community has always been a huge part of this project. I’m looking forward to being taught practical field skills at Court Farm and sharing what we're discovering with people at the public engagement evening – as well as giving people another opportunity to see the famous 3D Pachycormus fish. If you’re curious about the history beneath your feet, we'd love to see you there."

During the event, visitors will be able to hear directly from the dig team, view fossils uncovered during the excavation and learn how specimens are cleaned, conserved and catalogued for future research and display.

There will also be a chance for members of the public to bring along their own fossil finds for identification by experts.

Fossil Fishing at the Farm public engagement evening
Friday 17 July 
The Rest, Broad Street, King's Stanley, Gloucestershire GL10 3PN  
6pm to 8pm

Programme

• 6pm – Introduction by the dig team leaders
• Show and tell with dig participants – see the latest finds and learn about conservation and cataloguing techniques
• Identify your fossils – bring your fossils for identification and meet the experts
  Please note that there will be no access to the dig site itself.

Any significant specimens discovered during this year's dig will be donated to Museum in the Park, continuing the partnership that has enabled local people to enjoy and learn from the internationally important discoveries made at Court Farm. The original excavation attracted worldwide interest because of the exceptional quality of the fossils, including fish preserved with scales, fins and even visible eyeballs. The fossils collected from this site in 2022 are currently on loan for research but a permanent display at the Museum in the Park is planned for 2027.

Councillor Martin Brown, Chair of Stroud District Council Community Services and Licensing Committee said: 

"This is a fantastic opportunity for people to meet the experts involved in this fascinating project and discover more about the ancient creatures that once swam where King's Stanley stands today. Whether you're bringing along a fossil for identification or just want to find out more about the dig, everyone is welcome."

The event is free to attend.

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