4 days ago
- Science
- National Geographic
Did ancient Romans collect fossils too? New discovery offers a clue.
A newly discovered 460-million-year-old trilobite showed signs of being shaped and flattened—the first indication that ancient Romans purposely collected and modified the tiny fossils. A computer simulation of what the trilobite fossil from A Cibdá de Armea may have looked like if it was fashioned into a pendant. Archaeologists say the ancient Romans may have worn the fossil as a protective amulet. Illustration by Fernández-Fernández, A., Valle-Abad, P., Rodríguez -Nóvoa, A.A. et al. Significance of fossils in Roman times: the first trilobite find in an early Empire context. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 17, 166 (2025)
Few objects capture the modern imagination like fossils, offering glimpses of a world dominated by dinosaurs, massive mammoths and other long-gone ferocious creatures. Even in ancient times, Greeks and Romans were entranced by prehistoric remains—like bones and teeth from large extinct animals—which they venerated in their temples and incorporated into their mythology as Cyclopes or dragons.
Now, a newly discovered trilobite trinket from an ancient Roman settlement suggests that humans in classical antiquity were fascinated by these tiny fossils, too.
Archeologists have discovered a roughly 460-million-year-old trilobite fossil in the Roman-era site of A Cibdá de Armea in northwestern Spain. The trilobite, which likely originated from a shale bed more than 250 miles away, had been manually shaped and flattened, suggesting that ancient Romans collected and traded such fossils and may have fashioned them into ornaments or jewelry. The roughly 460-million-year-old trilobite fossil found in the Roman-era site came from a fossil bed some 250 miles away, indicating it likely arrived at the settlement via trade. Photograph by Fernández-Fernández, A., Valle-Abad, P., Rodríguez -Nóvoa, A.A. et al. Significance of fossils in Roman times: the first trilobite find in an early Empire context. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 17, 166 (2025) The trilobite fossil showed signs of having been manually shaped and flattened. Photograph by Fernández-Fernández, A., Valle-Abad, P., Rodríguez -Nóvoa, A.A. et al. Significance of fossils in Roman times: the first trilobite find in an early Empire context. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 17, 166 (2025)
Scientists had previously uncovered a trilobite fossil in a French cave in 1886 that may have been used by prehistoric humans as a pendant some 14,000 years ago. But the Armea trilobite, found at a site dating between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, is the earliest known reference to trilobites in classical antiquity, says Fernández-Fernández. It is also the first indication that Romans intentionally gathered and altered these fossils, perhaps into amulets.
"If the trilobite had appeared unmodified, it would have had significant value, but its transformation to be set in jewelry gives it much greater scientific value," says Fernández-Fernández. "This gives us an idea of the importance of the fossil as a 'magical' stone." Fossil fascination
Trilobites were a diverse group of extinct marine invertebrates that first appeared roughly 520 million years ago and died off about 250 million years ago. Though they varied widely in size and shape, the creatures—which loosely resemble horseshoe crabs—all had three body segments, including their head, thorax, and tail. Their name, "trilobite," refers to the three "lobes" that divide their exoskeletons lengthwise: one central, and two on either side of the spine.
The Armea fossil, about an inch or so long, appears to be from the genus Colpocoryphe, which had a smooth hind section. The specimen they found preserves parts of the trilobite's exoskeleton and was flattened on the underside, which the researchers say, suggests it might have been used as a pendant or bracelet. Computer simulations of the Armea trilobite specimen mounted on a leather bracelet. Illustration by Fernández-Fernández, A., Valle-Abad, P., Rodríguez -Nóvoa, A.A. et al. Significance of fossils in Roman times: the first trilobite find in an early Empire context. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 17, 166 (2025)
The archaeologists recovered the trilobite among thousands of other objects at A Cibdá de Armea, including ceramic pieces, pots, dishes, and vases. It was found in a large, open room that shared a wall with the kitchen and may have been used as a dump area.
The Armea fossil is only the eleventh documented instance of a trilobite being excavated and gathered by ancient populations in an archeological context, and only the third from more than a thousand years ago. Many previous examples came from medieval sites and were found out of context, Fernández-Fernández says.
"It's fascinating to imagine our ancestors collecting fossils, having the same sort of weird fascination for extinct critters as we do today," says Julien Benoit, a paleontologist at the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa, who was not involved in the paper. The findings could also connect ancient Romans to other populations who made jewelry out of trilobites, like the Ute people of North America, Benoit says. The trilobite fossil was uncovered during an excavation at the Roman settlement site of A Cibdá de Armea in northwestern Spain. Photograph by ArqueoGEAAT/University of Vigo
Adrienne Mayor, a historian of ancient science at Stanford University, and author of The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times, calls the discovery a 'highly significant' contribution to historians' understanding of how ancient populations' may have viewed fossils.
Mayor, who was not involved in the research, notes that because the trilobite was likely transported to A Cibdá de Armea through trade, the discovery raises questions about whether Romans traded fossils more frequently than historians thought, and whether they understood what fossils are.
While Greek and Roman literature references other large fossils, like those of mastodons and mammoths, it's less clear how they perceived trilobites. Larger fossils were "collected, measured, displayed, and interpreted as the remains of mythological monsters, giants, or larger-than-life heroes,' Mayor says.
Trilobites, on the other hand, "have an intriguing appearance," resembling an insect or a water creature, she says, leaving one to wonder: "Is that how they were seen in antiquity too?'
Fernández-Fernández has a hunch. He hypothesizes that Romans likely wore armored trilobite amulets because they saw them as holding mystical or protective powers. If so, he says, that belief links Roman fascinations to more modern fixations, "because protection through ancient 'magical' stones remains relevant today."
