By Sean CW Korsgaard
CP Reporter
Last week may have been Shark Week, but for the dozens of archaeologists who spent most of last week digging at the Marietta Carmel Church Quarry, it was whales that were the focus of their attention and celebration.
To the untrained eye, the long dirt wall alongside a long abandoned part of the Marietta Carmel Church Quarry appears to be just that, a mere dirt-covered cliffside. For paleontologists however, that 200 feet of dirt has earned a reputation as perhaps the richest fossil bone site east of the Mississippi River, and has earned Caroline County international attention as a fossil finders mecca.
Many of the fossils come from sea life that still swim the world’s oceans today, including dozens of species of whales, sharks and dolphins. Others, such as Carcharocles megalodon, which was once the biggest predatory shark to ever live, are long extinct. Others still, such as extinct baleen whale Eobalaenoptera harrisoni, were discovered at the quarry for the first time, and helped put the quarry on the map upon its discovery in 1990.
Digging on site from July 25 through July 28, Dr. Alex Hastings says much of the focus was on uncovering the most recent whale skeleton located in the quarry, which first located on another expedition this past March. Hastings, assistant curator of paleontology at the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville, was on his third expedition to the quarry since starting at the museum in 2015, and says this made for an especially productive trip.
“The whale is quite large, it takes a while to dig around it, and there are several other spots we’ve opened up around it from which we’ve found a trove of shark teeth, as well as pieces of a dugong and some dolphin and turtle bones,” said Hastings. “We’re looking forward to digging up as much as we can this expedition, and we’ll probably have to finish the job next time we’re out here, but we’re hoping we’ll be able to identify the whale species we’re working on by then based on what we’re taking back with us this time.”
Past digs at the quarry have located 17 species of whales and dolphins, 15 to 20 kinds of sharks, seals, sea turtles, 20 to 30 fish, including sunfish, tuna, drum and sturgeon, as well as a range of land animals from crocodiles to callippus, a dog-size ancestor of the horse.
The reason for Caroline County being the home for so many of these fossil finds has to do with Caroline County resting on what geologists term a fall line, a geological break between upland regions and coastal plains, where the oceans have risen and fallen over the course of millions of years, making it an ideal place to find both terrestrial and aquatic fossils.
“We’re actually very near what would have been the shoreline millions of years ago, and it’s entirely possible there are dozens of sites as rich as this in the area,” Hastings said. “There are a handful of other sites in Caroline and Hanover county that have produced fossils, but not nearly to this degree, the quarry has been producing fossils since 1989, and looks like it will continue to do so for a long time to come.”
One thing about the last few expeditions to Caroline County that Hastings has been especially proud of is the growing pool of volunteers joining the usual groups of scientists and students, with some from as far away as North Carolina and Maryland to lend a hand at the dig site.
“Almost all of the people we’ve had out digging this past week have been volunteers and hobbyists, all you need to do this is an interest in helping, and to like getting your hands dirty,” Hastings said. “We encourage anybody who is interested in joining us on a dig to get in touch with the museum, we’ll add you to a list, and we’ll be in touch next time we’re out here – all you have to do is say yes.”
As an added bonus for would be amateur archeologists, while anything found along the sediment wall is kept by the Virginia Museum of Natural History, if a volunteer finds a fossil found lose from the ground or sifted from previously moved piles of dirt, once cleared by the officials on site, they can be kept by volunteers.
That in part is what brought out Crystal Owens, who learned about the dig through the Caroline County Visitor’s Center. A Shumansville resident, Owens came out alongside her family to the dig site for the first time, including her young son Jonathan who harbors dreams of being a paleontologist himself one day. A teacher at Chickahominy Middle School in Hanover County, Owens is all too happy to encourage a love of science, especially with a rare chance like this to get hands-on experience so close to home.
“We’ve been digging for shark teeth in Stratford Hall and Westmoreland State Park, so now we’re very existed to find some history in our own backyard,” said Owens. “We teachers love opportunities like this to let the kids have some fun, get their hands a little dirty, and maybe learn a thing or two along the way.”
It’s something Catherine Walker knows all too well. Walker originally grew up in Caroline County, and fell in love with geology and paleontology taking an earth science course in high school. Now working for the Virginia Museum of Natural History, she’s back in Caroline County as a budding archeologist, on her first dig at the quarry.
“It’s incredible to be back here, I had no idea this was here growing up,” said Walker. “I would have loved coming out here, so it’s great to see kids out here, as thrilled to be digging up shark teeth as I was finding a whale vertebrae – paleontology has a funny way of making kids out of all of us.”
While a date hasn’t been set for the next expedition, it will likely be sometime later this fall according to Dr. Hastings.
“Caroline is a great place, we’re always happy to be out here, and we’re definitely looking forward to coming back.” said Hastings.
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