It was interesting to see paleontologists (albeit students) in action. How do you extract the fossils from this?

When the mine was redug out in the 1990’s, it was already in dirt form, not in rock form. But how to sort the fossils from the dirt?

First you put a pile of ‘dirt’ in a sifter (the metal box).

Then you give it a good wash in the trough.

You lay out what’s left in the sun to dry.

And then collect it, ready for sorting.