The Fossil Bed at Lesnes Abbey was discovered by William Whitaker in 1872 while out walking his dog and observing the shells thrown out by rabbits at this location. The fossils are predominantly marine snails and bivalves with numerous sharks’ teeth amongst them. Occasionally bones and teeth of small mammals turn up and even the finger-nail-sized hooves of an early member of the horse family, but most of the mammals that were living here 55 million years ago are less familiar to us today.
Nearest train station: Abbey Wood
Distance: 1.1 km (0.7 miles)
Listen to points of interest on this time trail:
- Point of Interest 1: Download an MP3 of Abbey Wood Station
- Point of Interest 2: Download an MP3 of Lesnes Abbey ruins
- Point of Interest 3: Download an MP3 of Lesnes Shell Bed
