Review of the West Dorset fossil collecting code Appendix 9. Issues and recommendations already identified by the review 1 Low acquisition rates of Key Scientifically Important specimens Without doubt, increasing the number of specimens acquired by accredited museums is the greatest challenge for the code. The chronic lack of funding for palaeontology nationally, the lack of appropriately controlled storage and display space in museums, particularly locally, the challenges of securing acquisition funding and different attitudes to the purchase of palaeontological specimens, are the underlying barriers to acquisition. Clearly the purpose of acquiring category 1 specimens is that the rules of zoological nomenclature strongly recommend that specimens should only be described in the scientific literature if they are secured within an accredited museum collection in order for future study and assessment to be guaranteed. A number of specimens are being held back by collectors in expectation that a world class museum or exhibition will be built on or near the West Dorset coast but very little has been done to determine if this is a viable proposition or not. The Lyme Regis Museum wishes to expand but it needs to find the funding, occupies a constrained site and must convince the collectors that this is the best option. It is essential that this issue is addressed one way or the other. RECOMMENDATION 1 : Explore the opportunity for a major new exhibition or museum. Can existing local museums fulfil the role? The Lyme Regis Museum is seeking to expand and provide a larger gallery dedicated to the fossils. Some collectors wish to see a purpose-built centre or museum but no one is taking a lead on this option. The work must explore both possibilities and make some form of recommendation. The significance of some specimens has been missed and no action has been taken even when specimens are available for donation. Record 133 is a very good example, an extraordinarily well preserved leaf from the Upper Greensand, identified as category 1, available for donation, yet nothing has been done to further assess the significance of the specimen or approach the collector. The obvious thing to do is to ensure that the specimen is highlighted to the relevant expert or experts at the time it is recorded. If that specimen is of very real interest, then a statement to that effect should be placed against the record and action should be taken to acquire it immediately, particularly if the finder is prepared to donate it. RECOMMENDATION 2 : Someone should take a lead – it is proposed that it should be the geological warden at the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre. A list of recognised experts should be established and they should be notified of each record as it is made. A statement of interest and intent should be made against any records that experts feel are truly important to acquire. If the specimen is available for donation or sale, then it should be secured as soon as possible. NOTE: this recommendation is also made under the ‘Communications’ element within this issues section, Recommendation 17. Where specimens are acquired through purchase, the process can be quite difficult. Museum curators are restricted from valuing specimens for a number of reasons. Curators of objects in all disciplines could be put in a difficult position if valuing objects which might be put up for sale. There are also the legal implications if an object is misidentified and as a result is sold beneath its value – e.g. a misidentified Constable! Curators have compiled information on value based on records of sales/auctions and the like. Perhaps 1 geological curators have disliked the implications of purchase for the very reasons already touched on – the shortage of funds – and indeed, the difficulty and time involved in raising funds. It could be argued that purchasing specimens will drive up their value. There appears to be a considerable disparity between the value put on, and paid, for art and archaeological objects compared to palaeontology. However, the fossils from the West Dorset coast do have a monetary value which reflects the time, skill and commitment to find them together with the days, weeks or even months of preparation. The value may be enhanced by the scientific importance, rarity or aesthetics of the specimen which may be released through preparation. Compared to cultural objects, it could be argued that the value of most fossils is very low. Unlike many cultural objects, no fossil under the code has been ‘sold to the highest bidder’; the value of specimens purchased has been arrived at through consensus and valuations from a range of people. The issue of valuation, trade and ownership of fossils is explored by Rolfe, W.D.I., Milner, A.C. & Hay, F.G., ‘ The price of fossils’ , Spec. Pap. Palaeont. 40, 1988, pp.139 -171. Collecting Cultures Jurassic Life Project – a small drop in a big ocean Dorset County Council’s Museum Service, with the Jurassic Coast Team, successfully bid for £200,000 under the Heritage Lottery Fund ‘Collecting Cultures’, with a further £30,000 match funding from Dorset and Devon County Councils, to assist nine museums along the coast to acquire and display fossils in their collections. The acquisition rationale was simple; to build up representative collections and acquire specimens of both educational and scientific value wherever possible. Lyme Regis and Bridport museums lie within the West Dorset code area and are benefiting accordingly. Appendix 4 details the specimens acquired and the prices paid for them (including specimens not covered by the West Dorset code), based on the Heritage Lottery funded Collecting Cultures Jurassic Life project. The plesiosaur from Golden Cap was valued by local collectors and dealers at between £4,000 and £7,000. The top valuation was accepted by the collector and subsequently paid. One of the challenges with acquisition is arriving at a valuation for the specimens, particularly those that are rare or exceptional. The large Dapedium , collected in 1986, was one such example where independent valuations ranged from £8,000 to £12,000. The owner originally valued the specimen at £18,000 but accepted an offer of £15,750. A complete juvenile ichthyosaur, 53cm long, was identified for acquisition. This specimen was rescued from Broad Ledge before the code was established. The owner offered the specimen at £20,000, less than he considered it to be worth, but other valuations suggested a maximum value of £12,000. It was not possible to agree a price and the specimen was sold to a private individual for considerably more than the offer price made to Dorset County Council. Another specimen, Ichthyosaurus breviceps was identified (record 79). The collector was asking for £15,000 and valuations suggested a value of between £10,000 and £15,000. An offer of £15,000 was accepted by the collector, subject to confirmation of title. This specimen had come from the foreshore west of Charmouth, an area identified by the Crown Estate as having been sold to a private individual in the mid Nineteenth Century. Efforts by Dorset County Council to identify any relatives of the landowner were unsuccessful but by the time this work had been completed (more than six months later), the collector withdrew the specimen. In accordance with the code, the specimen had been offered to an accredited UK museum for more than six months and therefore the collector was free to sell the specimen elsewhere and as a result a fellow collector acquired it. The significance of the Collecting Cultures funding cannot be over-emphasised as it has created a period of time when the funding for acquisition has been available to the museums and as a result, specimens of great scientific importance have been acquired, 2 particularly from outside the West Dorset coast; Portland, Weymouth Bay and East Devon. The acquisitions have been able to support scientific study and engagement between academics, collectors and museums. This must continue and there is a clear need for a fossil fund for the future. RECOMMENDADTION 3: a/ Establish a fund, suggested to be a ‘Mary Anning Fund’ to promote future acquisition of important fossils along the length of the World Heritage Site. Action for the WHS Team, the Dorset/Devon museum services and local museums. AND b/ consider further attempts to track down unknown landowners, principally those who own the foreshore ledges. 2 Defining scientific importance, awareness and promotion The definition of scientific importance was drawn up following consultation with the academic community and it takes into account that museums already hold many thousands of fossils from the West Dorset coast. Appendix 5 contains the definitions of scientific importance within the code. There is the potential for collectors not to be aware of the categories and whether their specimens may qualify. There are also some gaps. Under the code, all identifiable fish that can be linked to a stratigraphic horizon should be recorded. (The reason being that the NHM’s collection of over 400 Liassic fish, extensive as it is, lacks stratigraphic provenance and therefore any finds with such information are potentially useful in studying how fish recovered from the Triassic/Jurassic extinction event). A well preserved fish with no stratigraphical provenance does not need to be recorded. Should it? The same could apply to reptiles and lobsters for example. RECOMMENDATION 4 : category 2 fish should include significant specimens even if their stratigraphic horizon is unknown (i.e. found ex situ ). A good example is record 125 ‘Head of large fish in limestone’ which would not necessarily qualify for recording. Linked to Recommendation 6. RECOMMENDATION 5 : The same as above applies to crustaceans and therefore there is a need to provide better guidance on what a category 2 crustacean may be.