Sand Dollar Apocalypse (Malta)

In many places I’ve been I’ve seen random stones in buildings or sidewalks with a few fossils in them. Usually, there aren’t that many, but in Malta, I hit the mother-lode. There are millions of sand dollar fossils on the island.

Sand Dollars are a flat-ish type of sea urchin and are found in many places around the world. Most of the buildings in Malta are made of local stone (there aren’t many trees in Malta, and importing anything is expensive), so the entire landscape is beige stone, green trees/plants, and blue sky and sea.

Because of this, you can find sand dollar fossils all over town in cut stones, and in the thousands in the Globigerina (such a fun word) limestone near Dwejra Tower/Blue Hole. Sadly most were broken when they were fossilized, but some are nearly complete. However as they are exposed and tourists walk all over them, they are destroyed.

Is there anywhere you’ve been that you’ve seen lots of fossils like this? If so, let me know below. I know I saw a bunch on a stairway in a museum somewhere, but I don’t remember where that was.

For more on Malta, click here.