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![]() | It has been suggested that this article be merged with Messel Formation. (Discuss) Proposed since March 2024. |
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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Location | Darmstadt-Dieburg, Hesse, Germany |
Criteria | Natural: (viii) |
Reference | 720bis |
Inscription | 1995 (19th Session) |
Extensions | 2010 |
Area | 42 ha (100 acres) |
Buffer zone | 22.5 ha (56 acres) |
Coordinates | 49°55′03″N 8°45′24″E / 49.9175°N 8.7567°E |
The Messel pit (German: Grube Messel) is a disused quarry near the village of Messel (Landkreis Darmstadt-Dieburg, Hesse) about 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Bituminous shale was mined there. Because of its abundance of well-preserved fossils of the Messel Formation dating from the middle of the Eocene, it has significant geological and scientific importance.[1] Over 1000 species of plants and animals have been found at the site.[1] After almost becoming a landfill, strong local resistance eventually stopped these plans and the Messel pit was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 9 December 1995. Significant scientific discoveries about the early evolution of mammals and birds are still being made at the Messel pit, and the site has increasingly become a tourist site as well.[1]