2 Kashmiri teachers claim discovering gigantic fossil site

Srinagar, Aug 28 (IANS) Two local teachers on Saturday claimed that they have discovered a gigantic fossil site in Jammu & Kashmir's Kulgam district.

Manzoor Ahmad and Rouf Hamza are junior lecturers at a school in Kashmir.

They told the media that while scouting for fossil samples near the Aharbal waterfall in Kulgam district, they came across a site which is rich in fossil diversity dating back between 488 to 354 million years.

"The site located just two kilometres from the Aharbal waterfall is studded with thousands of fossil remains which got exposed due to weathering, road construction and subsequent erosion", the duo claimed.

The two teachers said fossils are visible superficially at the site without any excavation which indicates that a huge haul of fossils is hidden at the site.

"Preliminary investigation has revealed that these fossil samples fall between Ordovician and Devonian period.

"Actual age can, however, be determined by subsequent research and carbon dating," said Rouf Hamza.

The site is presumably the biggest paleontological finding in Jammu & Kashmir in terms of occurrence, area, diversity and age, he added.