World Heritage Identification Number: 720
World Heritage since: 1995
Category: Natural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇩🇪 Germany
Continent: Europe
UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America
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Messel Pit Fossil Site: A Time Capsule of Eocene Mammal Evolution
The Messel Pit Fossil Site, located in Hesse, central Germany, offers a captivating glimpse into the Eocene epoch, a period spanning approximately 57 million to 36 million years ago. This extraordinary site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, recognizing its significant contribution to our understanding of the living environment during this critical phase of Earth's history.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
Messel Pit is the richest site in the world for understanding the living environment of the Eocene, between 57 million and 36 million years ago. In particular, it provides unique information about the early stages of the evolution of mammals and includes exceptionally well-preserved mammal fossils, ranging from fully articulated skeletons to the contents of stomachs of animals of this period.
Encyclopedia Record: Messel Formation
The Messel Formation is a geologic formation in Hesse, central Germany, dating back to the Eocene epoch. Its geographic range is restricted to the Messel pit. There it unconformably overlies crystalline Variscan basement and its Permian cover (Rotliegend) as well as Eocene volcanic breccias derived from the basement rocks. The formation mainly comprises lacustrine laminated bituminous shale renowned for its content of fossils in exceptional preservation, particularly plants, arthropods and vertebrates.Additional Site Details
Area: 42 hectares
Coordinates: 49.918 , 8.757
