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Dinosaur Dreaming

Research from the Monash University Palaeontology Laboratory

Field techniques

Over the years, a variety of excavation techniques have been used at the Flat Rocks site near Inverloch. The site has always been problematic in some ways.

Not because it's inaccessible - in fact the site can be reached very easily, and is now something of a tourist attraction - but because twice a day, on every high tide, the rock layer is inundated and covered by tonnes of sand.

So every day during the field season, the excavation team have to first remove all the sand before they can even think about
a huge shower cap over the excavation site
The System” acted like a huge shower cap over
the excavation site, keeping most of the sand
out during high tide
removing the fossil-rich rock. This wasn't too much of a problem in the early years, as the rock layers were closer to the surface, and the sand could be cleared in around 30 minutes. As the years went by, however, the hole became deeper, and the amount of sand that had to be cleared far greater. By 1999, it could take over an hour to ready the site for work - and when you're racing the tide to get everything done, every minute counts.

For the 1999 dig season, Nick van Klaveren devised an elegant solution for reducing the amount of daily sand-hauling. The "system" was so successful that it was used again in the following years.

For the 1999 dig season, Nick van Klaveren devised an elegant solution for reducing the amount of daily sand-hauling. The "system" was so successful that it was used again in the following years. 		 
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Techniques