12.7" Plate Of Fossil Pine Branches & Leaves In Travertine - Austria

This is an exceptional plate of fossil pine branches and leaves exquisitely preserved in travertine, collected in the Tirol region of 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 ~ 12,000 years ago. Pine branches are a fairly rare find at the locality.

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