ScotBlogs

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–”Like a hot dog in a bun.” Late this afternoon, while exploring the Eocene (Lutetian) Horsha Formation near the Nabatean/Roman/Byzantine city of Avdat, Yoav Avni and I ran across these odd features in a limestone layer within the … Continue reading →

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Yoav and I had a long hike today into the Eocene succession of rock units in the northern Negev. We wanted to look especially at the Horsha Formation (Eocene, Lutetian) because it has some cool trace fossils and … Continue reading →

I have a weakness for the beautiful scleractinian corals of the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian-Oxfordian) of southern Israel. This particular specimen is Microsolena aff. M. sadeki from locality C/W-367 in Hamakhtesh Hagadol, southern Israel. (The “aff.” in the name … Continue reading →

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Usually on Saturdays Yoav Avni and I do something “touristic”, like visit an archaeological site or museum. Since it is the Passover holiday, though, and we are both averse to crowds, we decided to do a little stratigraphy … Continue reading →

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–It is a problematic relationship between camels and me. My first experience with a camel out here was watching one eat my lunch, bag and all, when I foolishly left it in the shade of the vehicle while … Continue reading →

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–I met this particular tree in 2003 when searching for a good place to have lunch. Yoav said, “I know a tree”, and then we drove a half-hour to get to it. As you can tell, trees are … Continue reading →

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today I worked in the Jurassic of Makhtesh Gadol and the Triassic of Makhtesh Ramon. A highlight was that I was joined by Yael Leshno, an Israeli master’s student on her way to a paleontology career. She was … Continue reading →

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–This week I’m back in Makhtesh Gadol, that great bowl of Jurassic delights. This is the most extensive exposure of marine Jurassic rocks in southern Israel, and it is highly fossiliferous. This is just a brief report. I’ll … Continue reading →

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Pesach (Passover) begins this evening at sundown, but essentially the holiday has started today as people prepare for this evening’s family seders. The town has gone very quiet as stores have closed and traffic dropped to almost no … Continue reading →

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Simon Schama begins his magnificent series The Story of the Jews at an archaeological site near the Valley of Elah called Khirbet Qeiyafa. He said that the first physical evidence for the existence of the Jewish people was … Continue reading →