Fossils at Notre Dame Cathedral

When I was in Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral was a definite stop. I decided to go up in one of the towers. It is quite a wait to get up to the top but provides a great view of the city. When I was up in one of the towers I noticed quite a bit of fossiliferous rock. The statues of chimeras and gargoyles contain fossils.


This appears to be some sort of clam.


Lots of molds of gastropod shells.


Imprint of a gastropod


I am not sure are these chimeras or gargoyles or something else. That one on the left looks like an elephant.

Archean Butterstone

Here is a fossil that is sold in the United States described as an Archean butterstone from the Greenstone Belt of South Africa. The rock is over 2.5 billion years old and may contain blue-green algae stromatolites.

museumday September 26, 2009

The Smithsonian magazine museumday is Saturday, September 26, 2009. Find out more at this website. "Enjoy free general admission for you and a guest to hundreds of museums and cultural venues nationwide."

Museums around me that are participating:

Carnegie Center for Art and History
201 East Spring Street
New Albany, Indiana 47150

Frazier International History Museum
900 West Main Street
Louisville, Kentucky 40202

Howard Steamboat Museum & Mansion
1101 E. Market Street
Jeffersonville, Indiana 47131

Historic Locust Grove
561 Blankenbaker Lane
Louisville, Kentucky 40207

Museums can be great places to find fossils as well. My favorite in this area is the Louisville Science Center. They will be hosting the Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition from October 3, 2009 till February 15, 2010.