Discover Belgium: Explore a Land of Geodiversity, Fossils and Adventure

Sip back and discover Belgium and explore its geodiversity and fossil record stretching back more than 400 million years preserving a story of ancient seas, tropical forests, Ice Age landscapes and dinosaurs. Belgium’s diverse fossil heritage includess sites such as the Kattendijk Sands Formation beneath Antwerp’s harbour preserve Early Pliocene marine fossils, including shark teeth, seabird bones, and the remarkable Giant Auk called Alca stewarti, revealing thriving coastal ecosystems around 5 – 4.4 million years ago. Along the southwestern coast both Cadzand-Bad and Het Zwin expose Miocene to Pleistocene deposits rich in shark teeth, ray remains and occasional mammal bones, while the Western Scheldt Estuary provides a 40-million-year record of marine and terrestrial life, including Eocene Basilosauridae whales. Inland, the Ardennes and Condroz regions showcase Ordovician to Devonian strata teeming with trilobites, graptolites, corals, and pyritised ammonites reflecting warm, shallow seas long before the rise of dinosaurs. Late Cretaceous deposits around Tongeren, the Mons Basin and Limburg preserve both marine invertebrates near-complete skeletons of Iguanodons. Ice Age sites such as Goyet Cave in the Samson Valley reveal Neanderthals, possibly the first early domesticated dogs and large Pleistocene megafauna. The UNESCO Global Geoparks including the Schelde Delta and Famenne-Ardenne protect these fossil-rich landscapes where visitors can explore estuarine wetlands, limestone valleys, caves and fossil outcrops while encountering vibrant modern ecosystems of birds, mammals, and rare flora.

Fossils of the Kattendijk Sands Formation

The harbour of Antwerp is one of Europe’s significant fossil sites. Beneath the modern port lies the Kattendijk Sands Formation dating to the Early Pliocene and the Zanclean Stage around 5 - 4.4 million years ago and yields an abundance of marine fossils. Construction projects and dredging often expose rich shell beds, shark teeth and even the bones of ancient seabirds and marine mammals.

Among the most remarkable finds is a new species of giant auk called Alca stewarti a large seabird capable of flight that once thrived along Pliocene coastlines. Other seabirds from the formation include Puffins, Skuas, and extinct Alcidae such as Alca ausonia and Alca antiqua. Fossils of porpoises and whales provide further evidence that this was once a thriving marine ecosystem.

The Fossils of Cadzand and Het Zwin

In the South West of Belgium along the Dutch border are the beaches of Cadzand-Bad and the Zwin Nature Park. Known as the "Drowned Black Polder" a combination of wave action and sand reclamation exposes Miocene, Pliocene and even Pleistocene layers. Among the fossils found are shark teeth particularly from the large extinct Miocene species called Cosmopolitodus (Isurus) hastalis along with ray teeth, fish vertebrae and occasional mammal bones.

Fossils of the Western Scheldt Estuary

Dredging of the Western Scheldt Estuary has revealed both marine and terrestrial ecosystems over the last 40 million years. Peat layers containing fossil plants and pollen whilst a much older marine record where Eocene and Neogene strata has yielded fossils of ancient whales, dolphins, and seals, along with fish, turtles, and Ice Age mammals. Particularly significant are finds of vertebrae dating to around 38 million years from Basilosauridae an extinct family of cetaceans. These bones shed light on early whale evolution and the diversity of European Basilosauridae during the middle to late Eocene.

Fossils of the Ardennes and Condroz

The Ardennes and Condroz regions of inland Belgium preserve both Ordovician and Silurian rock more than 400 million years old that contain trilobites, graptolites and other marine invertebrates. The villages of Hotton, Resteigne and Lompret yield exposures of Devonian Period corals, brachiopods and trilobites. In particular the Matagne Shales near Lompret is known for pyritised ammonite fossils of Bactrites and Gephuroceratidae. These areas tell a story of a warm shallow sea long before the rise of dinosaurs.

Fossils of Tongeren

Tongeren, Belgium’s oldest town was known to the Romans as "Atuatuca Tungrorum" and lies near fossil-rich chalk and flint deposits dating to the Maastrichtian Stage of the Late Cretaceous dating to between 72.1 – 66 million years ago. At Eben-Emael and Sluizen in Limburg these deposits are exposed in marl and limestone quarries such as the privately operated Romont Quarry where a remarkable variety of fossils has been uncovered.

The sites are especially noted for marine invertebrates including sea urchins (echinoids), oysters (Acutostrea uncinella), and crabs (Mesostylus faujasi). Vertebrate remains, though less common, include fragments of sea turtle shells (Allopleuron hofmanni). Rare plant fossils, such as distinctive fossilised leaves add a glimpse of terrestrial life to the marine record.

The Mosasaurus of the Mons Basin

In the late 19th century the quarries at Ciply in Belgium’s Mons Basin yielded a remarkable collection of mosasaur fossils. Between 1880 and 1895 the quarrying of the Ciply Formation’s phosphatic chalk deposits dating to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous uncovered fossil skeletons of Mosasaurus lemonnieri. These specimens were transferred to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels.

Although the genus Mosasaurus was first identified in the Netherlands the Ciply discoveries played a key role in advancing knowledge of its anatomy and diversity. The Mons Basin and nearby Hesbaye-Maastricht district remain significant for understanding the marine ecosystems of the Late Cretaceous.

Fossils of Limburg

Belgium’s Carboniferous history is revealed in the coal mining region of Limburg. The spoil heaps or terrils are treasure troves of fossil plants from swampy tropical forests that thrived 320 million years ago. Visitors can find fern fronds, seed ferns and bark impressions of giant lycopsid trees the remnants of the vegetation that would eventually form the coal seams that powered Europe’s industrial revolution.

The Iguanodons of Bernissart

Among Belgium’s most famous fossil discoveries was made in 1878 when miners at the Bernissart coal mine uncovered more than 30 nearly complete skeletons or herd of the dinosaur Iguanodon.

The fossils included both the larger species Iguanodon bernissartensis and the smaller Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis. At the time, the discovery transformed paleontology proving that these animals had once walked on their hind legs and possessed a distinctive thumb spike. The Iguanodon’s thumb spike is a large horn-like structure on its hand and was likely used for defense, foraging or combat with other Iguanodons.

Fossils of the Ice Age Goyet Cave in the Samson Valley

Goyet Cave is nestled in Belgium’s Samson Valley and is one of Northern Europe’s most significant Late Pleistocene sites offering a glimpse into Ice Age. Dating to around 40,000 years ago the cave preserves the largest collection of Neanderthal fossils in the region. Many of these human remains display cut marks and fractures, providing compelling evidence of cannibalism likely for marrow extraction and nutritional purposes.

The Goyet Cave has also yielded a well-preserved Paleolithic dog skull, dated to approximately 31,000 years ago, representing one of the earliest indications of dog domestication during the Aurignacian Period. This was a time of the Upper Paleolithic closely linked to the arrival of Early European Modern Humans (EEMH). Beyond human and canine fossils the cave also contains a rich assemblage of large mammals, including mammoths, horses, reindeer, muskox, and cave bears.

The Schelde Delta UNESCO Global Geopark - READ BLOG

The Schelde Delta UNESCO Global Geopark, designated in 2024, spans 5,500 km² across the Netherlands (Zeeland, Noord-Brabant) and Belgium (West Flanders, East Flanders, Antwerp). It is a dynamic estuarine landscape shaped by the River Scheldt, featuring tidal flats, polders, salt marshes, dunes and river channels. The delta’s geology reflects its position between the subsiding North Sea Basin and the uplifted Brabant Massif, with sedimentary deposits spanning the Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene, and Quaternary Ice Age. These layers preserve fossils such as giant Carcharocles megalodon teeth, marine mammal bones, gastropods, bivalves, and plant pollen, offering insights into ancient seas, climate change, and shifting coastlines.

The delta is Europe’s most biodiverse wetland, supporting migratory birds along the East Atlantic Flyway as well as Grey Seals, Porpoises and halophyte plants. Seasonal migrations bring Geese, waders, Spoonbills and Terns, while tidal pools host starfish, crabs, and oysters.

The Famenne-Ardenne UNESCO Global Geopark - READ BLOG

The Famenne-Ardenne UNESCO Global Geopark in Wallonia, southern Belgium offers a captivating window into over 500 million years of Earth history where geology, biodiversity, and culture intertwine. Designated in 2018, the Geopark spans rolling hills, river valleys, and dramatic karst landscapes, structured around three distinct geological zones: the shale lowlands of the Famenne Depression, the resistant sandstone of the Ardennes Plateau, and the limestone corridor of the Calestienne, famous for caves, cliffs, and underground rivers. These terrains preserve a rich Paleozoic rock record, including Devonian and Carboniferous sandstones and limestones folded during the Hercynian orogeny, and fossil-rich formations that document ancient shallow-marine ecosystems. Trilobites, brachiopods, corals, stromatolites and other invertebrates reveal Middle Devonian benthic communities and record global paleoenvironmental events such as the short-lived Choteč Event, a pulse of oceanic anoxia that reshaped marine biodiversity.

Key fossil localities, including the Jemelle Formation, Vireux-Molhain, and the Mur des douaniers preserve exceptionally well-preserved trilobites from families such as Phacopidae, Lichidae and Proetidae alongside brachiopods, stromatoporoids, tabulate corals, hydroids and ostracods. Today, this complex geology underpins vibrant ecosystems: limestone soils of the Calestienne nurture rare orchids, ferns, and calciphile grasses, while Ardennes forests shelter deer, wild boar, and raptors, and rivers such as the Lesse and Ourthe carve gorges inhabited by otters, kingfishers and bats protected under the Natura 2000 network. Visitors can immerse themselves in this dynamic landscape by exploring the Han-sur-Lesse caves, hiking or kayaking through limestone valleys and discovering fossil-rich outcrops.