diggin fossil amber in NJ

[PhilaBottles]

hey all. ive been diggin fossil amber. the stuff is 90 million years old...same time as the dinosaurs. fossil bugs can be found in the amber, but its mostly scale insects...meaning really small bugs. the oldest bee, spider, ant, mushroom, feather, and other stuff have been found. i know its not bottles...but its diggin and findin...

i need to invest in a microscope that has photo capabilities so i can show you the bugs i found.

the thing is, the NJ amber pits have been hit pretty hard in the mid-late 1990's and most of the huge peices have been excavated. i hit a layer of amber that produced some nice sized peices. so if anyone is interested...i can give you directions before the place gets developed.

you can surface collect and find some good amber, but the big chunks are far and few inbetween.

heres a link where you can read further about the amber. http://snakefly.tripod.com/nj-amber.htm

 

[GuntherHess]

Pretty cool. I never expected to see amber from Jersey.
I wish there was a place like that a little closer. I'm definately into fossil collecting. I used to collect in the huge Texasgulf phosphate mines in north carolina.

 

[Niko]

Hey Matthew great stuff! I would love directions or any other info you have on that area in general. I had read about people finding amber in Jersey but I have never heard of any locations to do so at.
You can email me at Uncoat@aol.com
I would love to see pics of bugs and insects you have found if you do get a photo-scope.
Thanks

 

[capsoda]

Cool finds Matt. I would love to dig amber but that would be a streach for me. I do know how to cut and polish the stuff though. Most jewelers won't touch the stuff but I did alot of reshaping, repairing and polishing of amber and the jewelery it was mounted in.

 

[tazmainiendigger]

Sweet post Matt! I have some of those goodies, did you know some new species had been found in that material?? I also have some funky old fossil shells from that loaclity.... I bet if you find a bottle in that layer it would be a good one hahaha pre-stone age lol... Thanks for the pix! Taz

 

[PhilaBottles]

first time i ever got timed out.

ill make this a little shorter since i have business to attend to:

cap: what kind of lapidairy set up would be good for polishing etc...

gunther: id like to know more about the mine...

niko: sending you an email later in the evening EST...

taz: i hope i found some new species. i read about the bee and ant a while back. i didnt know marine fossils were found at the pits.


a heads up....did you see how close those new developments are? collect this spot ASAP. it will all be lost very soon. underneath suburbia. underneath three car garage houses. if you do travel, make sure you have a few days. the big peices are few. if you need a guide...im always ready to go. free of charge...youd be suprised how many people try and make a buck from fossil trips.

Matt.

 

[capsoda]

I never used any lapidary tools. I hand cut, shaped and polished each piece I made. You can't get it hot, it will cloud at the least and melt at the worst. You can do it with a dremel tool on super low speed. Grind gently to shape. Smooth with fine sand paper. Polish with a cloth buffing wheel. Work slowly and don't get it hot.

 

[zanes_antiques]

I learn something new every day. wait I thought I knew everything already...lmao (inside joke I guess) Very interesting i'd love to come out there and dig amber but all my time is taken up digging these darned bottles now! It would make a great get away tho. How long til it's gone?

 

[PhilaBottles]

only time can tell.

i heard rumors thru the pipeline that someone is building a warehouse, but the locals dont want it so close to the residential area.

i plan to make 10 more trips before the bitter cold comes.

 

[KBbottles]

Is this site still open???