Dundry Main Road South Quarry
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Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST566654 | — | Favourable | 0.66 | 2021-11-16 |
Geology & landscape
Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Geological Period: Jurassic
Description
Area, 0.7 ha. 1.8 ac. Description Cited in the last century by d' Orbigny as the English 'type section' for the Inferior Oolite, Dundry has long been a famous palaeontological and stratigraphic locality. The type locality for many species of molluscs and brachiopods, as well as other lesser groups, it is renowned as one of the world's most fossiliferous exposures with wellover two hundred species recorded. The Main Road Quarry exposes a fine section in the Middle and Upper Inferior Oolite. The former characterised by a typically southern English Normandy fauna, including the rich ammonite occurrences of the' Brown iron shot' and the latter by contrasting faunas of Cotswold aspect. This contrast is direct evidence for movements of the Mendip Axis in Middle Jurassic times, making this an outstanding site for its bearing on studies of palaeogeography.