idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
This year's excavation at the world-famous Bromacker fossil site in Thuringia has come to an end and was a complete success. Research into the newly discovered prehistoric dinosaur bones and small skeletons, trace fossils, prehistoric crustaceans, plant impressions and insect wings will provide further insights into the ecosystem at Bromacker 290 million years ago. Over 2300 visitors took the opportunity to exchange ideas with the researchers. The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, the Friedenstein Foundation Gotha, the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the UNESCO Global Geopark Thuringia Inselsberg - Drei Gleichen are involved in the project.
The Bromacker is considered one of the most important fossil sites in Germany. An international research team, consisting of experts in palaeontology, geology, geoscientific preparation, collection management and science communication, digs at the Bromacker for four weeks every year to unearth new, spectacular finds from prehistoric times. The fossils date from the Permian period, 290 million years ago, long before the first dinosaurs existed. The exceptionally well-preserved fossils make it possible to draw conclusions about the development of early terrestrial vertebrates, insects and plants in a prehistoric ecosystem. An extraordinarily high density of finds and the often excellent state of preservation of the fossils make the Bromacker a globally unique and important site. The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, the Friedenstein Foundation Gotha, the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the UNESCO Global Geopark Thuringia Inselsberg - Drei Gleichen are involved in the project.
Almost 50 researchers took part in this year's excavation from July to August and made a particularly noteworthy find: a small fragment of a skull - a jaw with long, thin, pointed teeth. The exact identification of this find is still pending. ‘Preparing these bones, some of which are only a few millimetres in size, is a challenge that I'm particularly looking forward to over the next few months,’ says preparator Pia Kain. After the excavation and preparation, the project researchers will re-examine, measure and analyse the objects.
The particularly small fossil finds also include conchostraks and plant roots, which Dr Anna Pint at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena plans to study over the next few months: ‘Conchostraks usually only live for a few weeks in small puddles and pools, such as those left behind after river flooding. Therefore, if they occur in clusters in the rocks at the Bromacker, they can indicate flooding events in river landscapes at that time. In contrast, fossilised remains of roots indicate areas that were colonised by plants and were therefore only occasionally flooded. Recurrent flooding events give us clues as to how the climate at that time developed and changed,’ says Pint.
A total of over 350 finds were discovered this year. Project and excavation manager Prof Jörg Fröbisch, PhD. from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin was very pleased with the discoveries. ‘This year's excavation at Bromacker was once again a complete success and far exceeded our expectations. The finds include numerous and varied trace fossils of invertebrates and vertebrates, including walking, swimming, scratching tracks and burrows,’ says Fröbisch. ‘By discovering and researching the prehistoric dinosaur bones and small skeletons, trace fossils, prehistoric crustaceans, plant imprints and insect wings, we hope to gain further insights into the entire ecosystem at Bromacker 290 million years ago.’
Over 2300 visitors to the excavation site
Once again this year, the public was invited to look over the researchers' shoulders as they worked. In addition to 13 fully booked public tours, there were two all-day family events. In total, over 2,300 visitors came to the Bromacker and took the opportunity to talk to the researchers. Fortunately, the number of visitors has been growing steadily for years. ‘We are delighted at how many interested people come to visit us here at the Bromacker,’ says Steffen Bock, science communicator at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. ‘The dialogue with them is very important to us and we try to give visitors an in-depth insight into our work.’
Excavation achievements so far
Since 2020, over 350 finds have been documented each year, the majority of which have been processed and prepared in the period between excavations. Among the prehistoric dinosaur finds recovered so far, the experts have also been able to identify and publish two new species of early land vertebrates this year: Bromerpeton subcolossus und Diadectes dreichgleichenensis.
Dr Tom Hübner, curator of the geosciences collection at the Friedenstein Foundation Gotha, enthuses about the success of the project so far: ‘We can now show that the Bromacker has the same potential for Thuringia in the areas of research, tourism and education as, for example, the Messel Pit World Heritage Site for Hesse or the Nebra Sky Disc for Saxony-Anhalt. Our major goal is to preserve this Thuringian treasure for all people and to operate it in the long term. We are therefore delighted that we are finding more and more partners who share our enthusiasm and want to support us on this journey.
The project's own Instagram channel (Bromacker_Chroniken) provides further impressions and results of the latest excavations and the current status of research in the project. You can also discover all this in the BROMACKER Lab at the Friedenstein Foundation in Gotha.
The team looks positively to the future
The project is being funded by Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschunsummer 2025 and the project team is currently developing a strategy for how the excavations, research, communication and educational work around the Bromacker can be maintained in the future.
This year's network meeting at the beginning of the excavation period inspired the think tank for a successful continuation of the project. Friends and supporters of the past decades, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Friedenstein Foundation Gotha and Mayor of Gotha, Knut Kreuch, as well as representatives of the Thuringian State Chancellery, mayors of the surrounding municipalities and the Thuringian Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Nature Conservation came to see the excavation work for themselves and discussed possible visions for the future and implementation options.
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists
Biology, Geosciences, Oceanology / climate
transregional, national
Research results, Transfer of Science or Research
English
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