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Middle East, Mont-Liban

Hjoula

Cretaceous fish fossil quarries

Fossil site Source-confirmed findsPermission required

What you could find

Reported finds from this ground.

FossilsFossils

Also reported: shrimp and lobster slabs (buy, or split by arrangement), eyes-only: working hillside quarries.

Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Partonez (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Why this spot

Rockhounding locality: the Hjoula-Haqel quarries above Byblos work Cenomanian Sannine Formation limestone, one of the world's great fish lagerstatten, yielding pristine fish, shrimp, lobsters and rare octopus

Wikipedia documents new fish, crustacean and cephalopod species from the Hjoula quarries by name; the Memory of Time fossil house in Byblos sells legally quarried specimens

Before you go

Hazards noted for this site.

quarry edges and sharp split limestone
mountain road switchbacks

Keep exploring nearby

More spots in this area.

Check access and collecting rules for each site.