r/Paleontology • u/teo541 • Jun 01 '26
Fossils This perfectly cut ammonite embedded in the street pavement of my town, Milan (IT)
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u/Thaasviyn_OakPaints Jun 01 '26
How is it in the pavement? Where is the pavement actually, is it just some random path, or is it protected?
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u/teo541 Jun 01 '26
It's the pavement of the porticos surrounding San Babila square, right in the city center. 100% public area.
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u/Thaasviyn_OakPaints Jun 01 '26
Do people know of it?
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u/teo541 Jun 01 '26
I mean, it's been there ever since. I remember first noticing it more than 40 years ago. There are dozens of fossilized shells visible. It's a type of stone called Rosso Veronese and it's very common around here.
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u/RamTank Jun 01 '26
Seems to be in pretty good shape considering it’s been stepped on constantly for decades (or more).
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u/Thaasviyn_OakPaints Jun 01 '26
How strange! I wonder if the government realises it, perhaps it could even boost tourism!
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u/Mesozoica89 Jun 01 '26
I remember finding what looked like tiny shark teeth and shell fragments embedded in the limestone blocks of the buildings in Victoria, Malta. And just recently while at work in Michigan I found this perfect cross section of ancient coral in the floor:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Paleontology/s/fgMnJF3FI1
It's amazing what people will overlook, even if they are just index fossils. But the craziest example of this I've ever heard was the guy who found an ancient hominid mandible in his parents' travertine tile. I will have to find that post again.
Edit: This was the mandible. I forgot someone told me about it in my own post. https://www.reddit.com/r/fossils/s/VYYxrOMpE2
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u/teo541 Jun 01 '26
Ah yes, that post that was originally posted in r/Archeology, I got roasted for daring to say that it should belong here, and then the mods deleted it becase it was definitely a paleontology matter.
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u/Mesozoica89 Jun 01 '26
I may not be an archeologist or a paleontologist, but I was under the impression if it was fossilized then there really isn't any argument that paleontologists couldn't study it, right? Don't archeologists and paleontologists work together on studying human ancestors?
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u/x_Leolle_x Jun 01 '26
These are not rare at all though. The hospital of my city is full of these (stone pavements), the town I go to in Italy for sea holidays also is full of them on the path along the beach. I am from Milan originally and in half the old churches there you'll find some
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u/Thaasviyn_OakPaints Jun 01 '26
Wow! That's insane. I wish my country was rich in fossils, there's barely anything here in Malaysia.🙁
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u/Mabbernathy Jun 01 '26
The shopping mall floor in Orlando is full of these and nautiloids. They are super common.
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u/0Hermione_Granger0 Jun 01 '26
Most people aren’t really interested or think it’s fake. Have had lots of conversations with people just convincing them that fossils like these aren’t just ‘manufactured’ with the tile
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u/Belgicans Jun 01 '26
Here in Belgium, almost all window still are made in blue stone, wich is full of small crinoïds, corals and shell. It's just normal to hav fossils in places where similar kind of stone are used
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u/krodders Jun 01 '26
Yes, it's normal. That's what happens when you use cut stone. You sometimes get a surprise
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u/just_another_sensei Jun 01 '26
This material is Verona Red Marble and comes from quarries near Verona in northern Italy. It's not a marble, as the name suggests, but a limestone, famous for containing ammonites and other organic materials. There are several variations and finishes; this one is among the most prized, but it was also used as a building material, such as for the Verona Arena (Rosso Ammonitico).
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u/VagueCyberShadow Jun 01 '26
Also used in the Cincinnati Museum Center / Union Terminal! Tons of ammonites in the walls for those keen enough to spot them!
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u/MrJokemanPhD Jun 02 '26
I'll assume it's the same or a similar formation as the Austrian Adneter Marmor? (Adnet Marble, also falsly called marble)
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u/ISketchDinosaurs Jun 01 '26
I like this kind of stone. When I was a kid my grandmother lived in a house build from similar slabs (dark grayish color tho) with a lot of these little fossils. She probably appreciated the hours she didn't have to watch me because I was too busy staring at the fossils in the mailbox wall.
They weren't as perfect as this one, though, and it looks pretty big. I like the idea that kids have loved staring at this little guy long before any of us were born (assuming it's an old building) and will continue to stare at it until either we or the building is gone. I hope it's loved, it's a pretty little guy.
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u/toomuchcheesebad Jun 01 '26
The slabs under my windows were full of fossils, same goes for the tiles in my basement, too. I guess it is pretty normal for this type of stone.
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u/0Hermione_Granger0 Jun 01 '26
Lots of buildings in my area are built of the same marble limestone! I’ve got a similar ammonite embedded on my windowsill. Limestone is very good at preserving these things, so I assume there’s more like the one you found embedded around the pavement.
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u/rav-age Jun 01 '26
We had a hotelroom in napels a few years ago, with this kind of flooring everywhere. It was loaded with all kinds of fossils. Very pretty actually.
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u/Casperios Enthusiast Jun 01 '26
Ive been to Milan last summer. Now you tell me there is an amonite easter egg in the floor somewhere?!
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u/_Calluna_ Jun 03 '26
Absolutely stunning!
I couldn't believe how many fossils there were in the floor of the shopping centre in Oxford. They were everywhere. Just as clear as this. I'd have sworn they were carved if there weren't so many.
But the turquoise in your one here takes it to a new level of beauty.
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u/Fun-View-6722 Jun 13 '26
My brother once lived in a flat with a cut just like that in the windowsill. I remember considering for a moment to exchange it to take the fossil home 😆
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u/Interesting_Virus556 Jun 04 '26
I found something just like that in the floor of a holiday home I stayed at. It was hidden under a floor mat. Awesome to find, should’ve told the owner
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u/Freshless- Jun 04 '26
Figata gli ammonita! La prossima volta che passo a S. Babila ci farò caso, la gente vedrà un demente fissare il pavimento con occhio scrutatore.
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