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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor, Fossils Take a Hammering A century ago when the science of geology was in its infancy great stress was laid upon the detailed description of each new locality so that others could follow exactly the footsteps of the finder. This detail has undoubtedly been of great use to subsequent generations of fossil-hunting palaeontologists but as a secret told, even a hundred years ago, is a secret lost many of these sites have become Meccas for the veneration of the inhabitants of a world an infinity away in time, providing a fascination which continues to attract. The vast majority of the people simply wish to learn more of the fossil world but, by dint of numbers and their continual use of classic sites, they have literally created caves where fossil beds have been followed inwards as in some of the Silurian localities of the Wye Valley. However, the problem does not rest there, for fairly recently lorry-loads of material have been bulldozed in the name of research from a well-known fossil locality near Llandrindod Wells. And with an increase in demand for unusual types of house decoration, apparently in Germany in particular, a new breed of poacher has emerged who scours the whole of Britain for lucrative fossil sites. Pneumatic drills have been used by these pirate fossil hunters in the Forest of Dean; unique fossil fish sites have been attacked in N.E. England and power saws used in Scotland to extract vast quantities of material for the same purpose and without the owners' consent. In the Isle of Wight concern has been expressed about the possible dangers of fossil collecting holidays in well known localities. The answer to the problem of increasing numbers of genuinely interested people is to find other sites for them to look at and Powys County Council has gone quite some way towards this end by the production of a booklet called Geology of Powys in Outcrop a Field Guide based on a Job Creation Scheme study. Unfortunately, ifthe County Highways Department does not receive sufficient orders, a second printing of this already out of print booklet will not take place. It would be a great pity if this valuable contribution to the alleviation of a growing environmental problem was itself allowed to fossilize. As for the poachers they exist only to supply a demand and it is the control of this which is our best defence against them. Llysdinam Field Centre, UWIST, Newbridge-on-Wye, Llandrindod Wells, Powys. Yours sincerely, Fred Slater. 25.10.79