Delegates from around the world attend fossil conference in Llandrindod Wells
Palaeontologists from around the world are currently visiting the Metropole Hotel, Llandrindod Wells, for an international conference hosted by the Heart of Wales Geopark
The 35 delegates have come from 12 countries, including China, Estonia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, the USA, and Canada to share research and to see the local rocks and fossils—and in particular, the newly discovered Castle Bank Biota.
The meeting was opened on the morning of Saturday 5 July by Jan Swindale, Llandrindod Town Crier, Llandrindod Wells Councillor Steve Deeks-D’Silva, and Councillor Pete Roberts, a trustee of the Heart of Wales Geopark.
The rocks and fossils in the Heart of Wales Geopark, the area around Llandrindod, Llandegley, and Builth, have been studied for centuries.
Professor David Siveter from the University of Leicester said "The rocks around Llandrindod and the adjacent, wider Welsh Borderland region hold historical and international significance.
“Their study by pioneering geologists in the 19th Century was fundamental in helping to establish the relative geological time scale and the concept of ‘deep time’ that underpins our science today.”
That research has continued into modern times. Among the delegates is Dr. Peter Sheldon from the Open University, who conducted ground-breaking research on trilobites of the area in the 1980s, and has returned for the meeting.
He said; “The rocks around Llandrindod and Builth contain many fossils of extinct marine animals. In recent years, Joe Botting and Lucy Muir have discovered many wonderful and surprising fossils of ancient organisms with some of their soft parts preserved, shining a light on the life that existed in the area nearly 500 million years ago. These findings, and detailed work by other scientists, have led to important advances in our understanding of evolution and received wide international attention.”
The conference delegates are also enjoying a taste of Welsh culture.
On Friday night, they were treated to a performance by Builth Male Voice Choir, with a traditional music session at the Llanerch Inn on Monday. On Sunday they were taken on a tour of St. Michael’s Church Cefnllys and Cefnllys Castle by local archaeologist Julian Ravest, and visited the Elan Valley to see both rocks and heritage on Tuesday.
Lucy Muir is delighted with how the conference is working.
She said: “It has taken a lot of work to get to this point, but it's wonderful to be able to host such a meeting for our friends and colleagues from around the world. We hope that many of them will want to come back!”
