The Morocco Fossils south of the Atlas Mountains are practically crammed with paleontological and mineralogical specimens, and the business attitude of the people has aided scientists and collectors. The early Bedouins grabbed up hammers and shovels and nearly overflowed the international market with fine findings after realizing that removing, processing, and reselling fossils would bring in a lot more money than digging in the hard, dry ground.
Morocco Fossils: Erfoud
Not every shipment is exported, though; some magnificent antiques are preserved in their original settings and are on display in a number of tiny museums. Private museums flank the route from Erfoud to Rissani for almost the entire distance. Each museum’s proprietor will give you a tour of well-known paleo-points, show you samples, and very definitely try to upsell you anything. The largest and most interesting of these museums is located a few kilometers west of Erfoud.
There is no visible distinction between a museum and a gift store, in contrast to the exhibits we are used to seeing in Europe and Russia: they seamlessly merge together, and the goods on the shelves that are for sale include just as many fascinating specimens as the continuous show. Additionally, it seems that the latter is not permanent and is never for sale.
Majority of the collection
The majority of the collection is housed in a single small hall. Instead of glass cases, the exhibits are displayed on long rows of shelves in chronological order. Of course, because of the numerous trilobite species they gave rise to, the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian periods dominate the area.
Around the end of the Paleozoic, both the trilobites and the significant sedimentary rocks on the country’s landmass vanished. The majority of the Mesozoic material that has been preserved is in the form of plaster castings of American artifacts.
A friendly and modest young guy who served as the curator welcomed us, gave us a brief tour of the facility, and offered us access to the racks housing the artifacts that no one else could handle. When there is no illumination, it is misleading to say that it is bad in the museum. We could easily direct the Phoenix’s blinding beam to take pictures wherever we pleased, though, as we had complete mobility. A powerful pocket “spotlight” is the Phoenix.
Musem of the Morocco fossils: Erfoud Museum
Morocco Fossils are beautifully displayed in the Erfoud Museum. Examples include a highly dissected animal with a thick forest of long, coiled spines on its back or a long procession of trilobites that were arranged in an attractive line before being abruptly buried by a landslide while migrating to a better place. These instances seem completely unbelievable.
After the various but less captivating paleontological exhibits, racks of Morocco Fossils for sale are positioned. One-of-a-kind specimens that cost several thousand dollars are displayed next to boxes holding mint specimens, mementos, and cheap fossil-based products. You can next proceed to the courtyard, which is lined with stones and is where the chefs labor. By the way, right there at their workstation, they have an interesting, unpatterned specimen that was pulled out from under a chisel or dremel that you can buy.
Despite the lackluster presentation of the finds, the museum is very interesting and impressive with its unique collections, allowing one to get a much closer look at the world of Morocco Fossils (for example, a massive slab of echinoderms worthy of the world’s best museums stands on crumpled newspapers right on the tiled floor).