The Jurassic Seas

Many beautifully preserved fossils come from the local `Cotswold Slate' limestone and Lias clay. Deposits that were formed in shallow seas some 185 million years ago.

We know that Gloucestershire must have been near the coast. This is because among the fossil sea creatures are land plants and animals that were washed out to sea with the tide. The surviving fossils tell us that these seas must have been warm and full of life. We have many kinds and sizes of extinct fish, rays, molluscs, and crustaceans, as well as the sharks and carnivorous reptiles that fed upon them.