Presentation
Here is my little story: early 70s, as a little boy passionate about nature, I often went on holiday in the Ardennes with my grandparents. I spent my days going for long walks in the forest trying to observe as many animals as possible. While returning a stone, in search of orvets, I discovered a fossil of coral. That year, a friend of mine gave me some Spirifers. Then I began to take an interest in these extinct animals. At a picnic, I searched in a cluster of shales and found Spirifers and crinoid stem sections. These first samples allowed me to trade by mail and I already got a nice assortment of pliocene shells from Italy. In 1973, it was the first Brussels mineral and fossil exchange: I bought my first trilobite (an Elrathia kingii at 90 BEF). I became acquainted with the Vireux site and I spent my holidays there. The discovery of trilobites on this site was very fruitful (20 to 40 per day very often). Only from this deposit, I could acquire sea urchins, ammonites, plants, fish, teeth, various shells, dinosaur footprints and other trilobites. A very varied collection was now established and found its place in a specific room. My little museum was born. I quickly specialized in trilobites because I found these amazing animals and all very different. So I went back very often to Vireux to get trading and to complete my list of species. Of course on this site I established contacts and there I became aware that we could find other beautiful trilobites in the Carboniferous region of Tournai. I took note, but leaving the information aside, until the Vireux site is banned. From that moment on, in 1982, I started looking for these new places for myself and found other species. The excavations around the quarries were numerous, accessible and quite rich in trilobites. They were much rarer than at Vireux, but more beautiful, with their preserved exoskeleton. After a few years of good finds, I traded and my collection of trilobites became more and more important. Over a few years, safety regulations became so severe that all quarries had to have endless fences and became accessible only 2 or 3 times a year with palaeontological clubs. I was getting bored and the Devonian trilobites were missing too. So, back to square one, in the Ardennes. Vireux forbidden, I "broke" a little anywhere. Going back to the place where I found my first fossil, I discovered a beautiful trilobite pygidium which turned out to be an undescribed Dechenella. As the years went by, I was actively documenting myself. The regional geological guides and the now very obsolete 1: 40000 geological maps were my first point of support. Then I discovered very specific books and publications, the first concerning the identification of carboniferous trilobites (by German paleontologists) and then others concerning the trilobites of the Devonian Ardennes. I also got in touch with some of these writers and met a few too. My collection was examined and some new species were highlighted (see further in the site). Now, with the Internet, the new geological maps at 1/25000 and my experience, I can find with more or less success new trilobite sites, better than the former Vireux site. I wish you a lot of pleasure to browse my site.