Book description
Fossils provide us with a tantalizing glimpse of Britain's
prehistoric past and hold the key to unlocking the secrets of life's
history and evolution. Since the appearance of primitive organisms in
Britain more than a billion years ago, oceans, deserts, swamps and
vast mountains have come and gone in our corner of western Europe;
forests of long-extinct trees, flowers and grasses have covered the
land, and dinosaurs and other strange creatures have roamed across it.
How do we know? The evidence is all around us - in the rocks and
fossils that lie beneath the landscape.
In this highly informative and practical book, which accompanies the
BBC series, presenter Hermione Cockburn and renowned palaeontologist
Douglas Palmer take an in-depth look at the most exciting fossil
stories from around the country. When and why were dinosaur fossils
first discovered in Britain? How was the biggest fish ever to have
swum in the sea unearthed near Peterborough? What do modern medical
techniques have to offer fossil hunters?
Packed with colour photographs and illustrations, Fossils
Detectives is full of surprising facts and features. And for
those who want to try their hand at some fossil detecting of their
own, the book includes an extensive regional gazetteer of
fossil-hunting sites and places to visit, and guidance on identifying
your fossil finds.
Get ready for some time travel around Britain, with the Fossil Detectives!
Hermione Cockburn is an earth scientist and science
broadcaster. She has presented on various BBC television series
including Coast, Rough Science, The Nature of
Britain and What the Ancients Did for Us as well as science
series for BBC Radio 4 including The Secret Life of Reservoirs
and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. She has a PhD in
geomorphology and is an Associate Lecturer with the Open University in Scotland.
Douglas Palmer is a science writer specializing in fossil
evolution and geology. He has written extensively on both subjects and
in a number of published books and articles including most recently
The Origins of Man and The Complete Earth. He was a
senior lecturer and researcher in palaeontology in Trinity College,
University of Dublin and currently teaches at the University of
Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education and Robinson College.
