Brick pit vestibule

Part of the "Kersberg Wall" in the quarry (2004)

Pointed fold in the clay stones of the brickworks entrance hall (1991)

The brickworks pit in Vorhalle , a district of Hagen in North Rhine-Westphalia , is a former quarry of the Vorhaller Klinkerwerke. Since the 1920s, the existing quarry and an outcrop that no longer exists worldwide have been considered the richest sites for plant fossils from the deep Upper Carboniferous . The well-known paleobotanists Walther Gothan (1879–1954) and Winfried Remy (1924–1995) also examined the quarries in the vestibule and the plant fossils found here.

Due to the discovery of fossil arachnids and insects in a partially as complete preservation as was previously not known from this period , it became a locality of international importance . Since 1982, this has led to highly regarded scientific results and numerous publications. The brickworks is a type locality of the Vorhaller layers of the Namur . In May 2006 the abandoned quarry was named a “ National Geotope ”.

Formation of the fossil deposit

During the Upper Carboniferous Period ( Namur B, 318 million years ago) the claystone layers in the pit were deposited in the sea bay of a river delta area. The thicker sandstones are smaller river channels. A deposit area near the coast can also be assumed due to the close association of fauna elements from different areas of life.

Farm plants (farnblättrige plants from the mainland horsetails , sealing , dandruff and Cordaitenbäume ), insect ( vials , Urnetzflügler , Urschnabelkerfe ), arachnids (u. A. Whip scorpions ) and Millipede washed in or incorporated blowing. Freshwater fish (spiny sharks, ray fins , coelacids ) could live in the bay because of the layering of fresh water on salt water . Marine life in the bay included goniatites , clams , brachiopods and crustaceans .

Due to the extraordinarily good preservation of the fossils - in some cases even skin and paint remains have survived - the Vorhaller claystone deposit is also referred to as a conservation deposit.

Porch steam brick

The Vorhaller Dampfziegelei, Verblendstein und Klinkerwerke GmbH was founded in the early 1860s by PH Schlickmann as a field fire brick. At the end of the 1860s, the founder built the first ring kiln and began manufacturing clinker bricks for chimney construction, building construction and civil engineering, as well as fire and acid-resistant clinker bricks.

Find history

After the Vorhaller Klinkerwerke discontinued brick production in 1989, the site was completely redesigned in order to increase the capacity to store building rubble . The fossil-bearing layers were initially buried, but later exposed again.

Between 1990 and 1997 the LWL Museum für Naturkunde carried out an excavation. The preparation of a total of 16,000 recovered fossils continued in 2005; the scientific processing of individual fossil groups has now been completed.

Whereabouts of the finds

The finds are exhibited in the LWL Museum for Natural History in Münster and in the nearby Museum for Prehistory and Early History, Wasserschloss Werdringen in Hagen. There are also some finds in private collections.

Protection of nature and monuments, tourism

The abandoned quarry walls with the Kersberg wall are protected as natural monument no. 1.3.2.2.4 Geological exploration quarry vestibule . The other areas of the quarry are in the conservation area Tücking, on the hall and the surrounding area . As it is a protected ground monument and a natural monument, collecting and digging for fossils in the quarry is prohibited, as is, in particular, entering the quarry walls and debris cones; this also serves to protect wild plants and animals in the rocky areas.

The Museum of Prehistory and Early History, Wasserschloss Werdringen, offers regular geological tours of the brickworks. Since the 2000s, the city of Hagen has been planning to build a new residential area in the southwest of the quarry area . For the purpose of tourist development, the natural monument area is included in the planning area of the development plan draft.

literature

C. Brauckmann : Arachnids and insects from the Namurium of Hagen-Vorhalle (Ober-Karbon; West Germany). In: Publications from the Fuhlrott Museum. 1, Wuppertal 1991, pp. 1–275, Fig. 1–78, Tab. 1–6, Taf. 1–25.
C. Brauckmann , Lutz Koch : New insects from the vestibule layers (upper Namurium B) from Hagen vestibule. In: Dortmund contributions to regional studies, natural science messages. 16, Dortmund 1982, pp. 15-26, Figs. 1-6.
C. Brauckmann , Lutz Koch : Prothelyponus naufragus n. Sp., A new flagellum scorpion [Arachnida: Thelyphonida: Thelyphonidae] from the Namurium (lower Upper Carboniferous) of West Germany. In: Entomologia Generalis. 9 (1/2), Stuttgart 1983, pp. 63–73, Fig. 1–10, Tab. 1.
C. Brauckmann , Lutz Koch : Arachnids and insects from the upper carbon of Hagen-Vorhalle. In: fossils. 11 (1), 1994, pp. 45-55, 13 figs.
C. Brauckmann , Lutz Koch , M. Kemper: Arachnids and insects from the vestibule layers (Namurium B; Ober-Karbon) from Hagen-Vorhalle (West Germany). In: Geology and Paleontology in Westphalia. 3, Münster 1985, pp. 1–131, figs. 1–57, plates 1–23.
C. Brauckmann , L. Schöllmann, W. Sippel : The fossil insects, arachnids and Eurypterids from Hagen-Vorhalle. In: Geology and Paleontology in Westphalia. 59, Münster 2003, pp. 1–89, figs. 1–24, plates 1–12.
A. Hendricks (Ed.): When Hagen was on the equator. - The fossils of the brickworks pit Hagen-Vorhalle. Westphalian Museum of Natural History, Münster 2005, ISBN 3-924590-82-6 .
Ernst-Rüdiger Look, Ludger Feldmann (Ed.): Fascination Geology. The most important geotopes in Germany. E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-510-65219-3 .

Web links

Commons : Ziegeleigrube Vorhalle - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c landscape plan of the city of Hagen. (PDF) In: hagen.de. December 1994, pp. 293, 300–302, 332–333 , accessed on November 9, 2016 (updated 2010).
^ Vorhaller Dampfziegelei, facing stone and clinker works GmbH, telephone Hagen 26984, own connecting track. Cunowerk Herdecke, 1928.
↑ Mike Fiebig: The Vorhalle-Süd / Steinbruch building area creates completely new paths. In: Westfalenpost . February 19, 2015, accessed November 11, 2011 .

51.382222222222 7.4452777777778Coordinates: 51 ° 22 ′ 56 ″ N , 7 ° 26 ′ 43 ″ E

[LP_2010-1] landscape plan of the city of Hagen. (PDF) In: hagen.de. December 1994, pp. 293, 300–302, 332–333 , accessed on November 9, 2016 (updated 2010).

[2] Vorhaller Dampfziegelei, facing stone and clinker works GmbH, telephone Hagen 26984, own connecting track. Cunowerk Herdecke, 1928.

[WP_20150219-3] Mike Fiebig: The Vorhalle-Süd / Steinbruch building area creates completely new paths. In: Westfalenpost . February 19, 2015, accessed November 11, 2011 .