Matthew Myerscough, a civil engineer recovering from a 2014 mountaineering accident, discovered a 201-million-year-old rhomaleosaur jaw at Lavernock Point in Wales. The rare marine reptile fossil, the first of its kind found in the region, emerged from limestone bedrock while he searched beaches for fossils to aid his trauma recovery.
From an Avalanche on Snowdon to the Beaches of Wales
In February 2014, civil engineer Matthew Myerscough faced a terrifying near-death experience when an avalanche struck as he hiked up Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon, in north Wales. Thrown off a small cliff and compressed in the snow, he remained unconscious and buried beneath more than a metre of snow for 20 minutes after falling 300 metres.
Rescuers found him barely breathing, and though his physical recovery took only a few days after being rescued from the mountain, the psychological aftermath lingered. Myerscough later realized the accident left him dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, experiencing repeated thoughts about the near-misses and what-ifs of the slide.
Discovering a Rare Jurassic Sea Dragon by Complete Chance
To escape negative thoughts, Myerscough turned back to a childhood pastime he had enjoyed during holidays in Whitby on the Yorkshire coast. Scanning beaches for fossils required immense concentration, providing a distraction that eventually led him to Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan.
While he was “not looking” on Lavernock beach near Penarth, he stumbled upon the fossilized bone of an early type of plesiosaur encased in hard limestone bedrock. The 201-million-year-old jaw, featuring an unusual spoon-shaped end, belonged to a rhomaleosaur—a marine reptile known as a sea dragon that roamed oceans during the early Jurassic period. The find marked the first of its kind found in Wales.
Myerscough initially walked past the fossil with two fellow fossil hunters before deciding to return for a closer inspection. Reflecting on the serendipity of the moment, he noted how small positional changes could have altered history.
“There were so many places we could have walked that day. And when I think about the research paper being done at the moment about that fossil, and everything that will learn, everything that will be understood from finding it – none of that would have been possible if we’d been 3ft to the left.”
Matthew Myerscough, via The Guardian
Mindfulness on the Shoreline
For Myerscough, the painstaking process of fossil hunting became a crucial tool for processing trauma. Focusing on a single, specific task on the beach allowed his worries and stresses to fade away.
Being on the beach, and looking for fossils, and being kind of really focused on one specific task…
Matthew Myerscough, via BBC News
He described a meditative state born from intense concentration, comparing it to the mindfulness achieved through yoga, sport, or watching a film. The requirement to scan rocks for imperceptible signs of fossils left no room for everyday worries.
“There’s this mindful, almost meditative state that I get into because I’m forgetting about all the other stresses and worries in life. I’m so focused on what I’m doing in that moment and what I’m searching for.”
Matthew Myerscough, via The Guardian
Sharing Rare Finds and Practical Realities of Fossil Hunting
Since returning to the hobby, Myerscough has discovered thousands of fossils on British beaches, including a plesiosaur flipper, a huge dinosaur footprint, and an ichthyosaur forefin and skull. He detailed his star finds and the secretive world of avocational paleontology in his book, In Search of Sea Dragons: A Fossil Hunter’s Odyssey.
While many fossil collectors keep their locations secret in hopes of finding more specimens after storms or cliff falls, Myerscough aims to share his knowledge. However, he cautions that the pastime carries genuine physical demands and hazards.
Carrying heavy hammers, chisels, and large rocks or boulders across long distances by foot makes the hobby just as physically demanding as mountaineering. Furthermore, beachcombers face constant dangers from unpredictable cliff falls and rising tides.
