Egypt's Environment Minister Khaled Fahmy said the Nature Protection Department has sent an expedition of experts from Mansoura University to the Gabal Qatrany region of the Qarun Natural Reserve in Fayoum to uncover fossils within the ministry’s program to protect the palaeontological riches of Egypt.
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| Experts from Mansoura University excavating fossils in the Gabal Qatrany region of the Qarun Natural Reserve in Fayoum [Credit: Egypt Independent] |
The expedition uncovered 93 fossils of dozens of different mammals, reptiles and fish, including bones, jaws, teeth, arms, thighs and skulls. Each fossil was given a code number for cataloguing in terms of type, place and date of discovery before they are to be displayed at the Fossil and Climate Change Museum in the Whale Valley region.
Fahmy said the expedition took 10 days, exploring several quarries of three sedimentary formations in Gabal Qatrany, Widan el-Faras and the open area of Qasr el-Sagha.
The expedition was divided into teams combing the area in three different directions. Each team removed the sediments with hand tools so as not to crack them, photographed the fossils in their locations, strengthened them with chemicals and wrapped them in dense layers of tissue paper. The large fossils were covered in a shell of gypsum to move them safely.
The Fossil Museum documents Egyptian excavations, protects them from robberies, exchanges them with universities and foreign museums and revives the study of fossils for new generations of experts. Its location in the Whale Valley, which is classified as a world heritage site, gives it an added value in attracting visitors to the reserve and promoting geological and environmental tourism.
Source: Egypt Independent [January 06, 2015]
