Fossil Leaf Preserved In Travertine - Austria

This a very detailed fossil leaf preserved in travertine, collected in the Tirol region on Austria. Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Basically hot springs deposited layer upon layer of limestone on the leaves, preserving them as fossils. The deposits have been dated to 13,500 years ago.

A paper on the travertine deposits of this region can be found at:

http://www.univie.ac.at/ajes/archive/volume_98/boch_et_al_ajes_v98.pdf