On August 28, a geological and paleontological field excursion to the Bohemian Karst took place, including visits to several significant sites.
The first stop was the Kosov quarry, an important locality of Silurian period. In a total of seven quarry levels, complete sequences of black and calcareous shales, various types of limestones, and also volcanic rocks such as basalt tuffs, volcanic flows, bombs, and tuffitic limestones are exposed. The quarry is also known for the discovery of carbonized plant remains of the genus Cooksonia, which provide evidence of early terrestrial colonization by primitive plants already during the Silurian period.
The next stop was the active large quarry Čertovy schody, one of the largest producers of lime and limestone products in the Czech Republic. The purest and highest-quality limestone in the country is extracted there.
The excursion concluded at the Plešivec quarry, where limestone was once mined. Today, the quarry is an important paleontological site rich in fauna from the Lower Devonian. Notable finds include numerous trilobites, brachiopods, bryozoans, and bivalves.
