A Wooster Geologist at Austerlitz and other Czech places

Olomouc, Czech Republic –At our very first site, Holubice in the Czech Republic, the Miocene celliporid bryozoans are like baseballs.

The site is in the middle of a vineyard, with the fossils eroding out of the loose sediment at our feet.

This is a shadow-selfie on the fossiliferous ground between the grape vines. As I was taking this artistic image, the field trip bus took off without me! I chased after it but lost hope as it pulled away in the distance. Geez. I had time to consider my few options (my pack with water and passport was on my lonely seat), but then the bus returned for me. My friend the Chinese paleontologist Jun-ye Ma had noticed I was missing. Lesson learned.

The dramatic chapel and memorial for the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) was our next stop. It is situated on one of the critical hills during the battle. The campaign is too complex to summarize here (thus the link), but in short it was a huge victory for Napoleon and it dramatically changed the map of Europe.

The stones in the memorial chapel are rich with Miocene domal bryozoans (the white objects).

Some of the bryozoans are penetrated by borings.

The chapel was constructed during the early 20th century and shows an Art Deco style.

The altar. The chapel doesn’t seem to account for non-Christian fallen soldiers, but that’s not surprising.

The dead from the battle were mostly buried in shallow graves where they fell. The soil of the battlefield continues to yield bones, especially after plowing. The remains are collected and brought to the chapel for eventual burial underneath in a crypt.

The Austerlitz battlefield.

Our first field group photo! We are at the Austerlitz chapel.

This miserable site  is Holubice, where a Miocene bryozoan marl is exposed. The hike in led by Kamil (above) was through a long stretch of high grass and woody brush. The mosquitoes were excited that mammals had suddenly appeared, while nettles stung exposed skin. Plus I didn’t see the bryozoans. I left early to make sure the bus didn’t abandon me here.