HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

The History of the Fossil and Moler Museum

The Fossil and Moler Museum was established on 28 May 1988 as the geological department of Museum Mors. The museum’s collection was founded on a large and very fine private collection of fossils and crystals from the approx. 55-million-year-old moler deposits. The collection was created by moler worker Bent Søe Mikkelsen.

Over the years, the museum’s collection has grown, enriched by many exceptional discoveries of insects, fish, birds, turtles, and plants. Thanks to the continuous efforts of the museum’s staff, the Fossil and Moler Museum can today present a large and exceptionally well-preserved collection of fossils of the highest international standard.

In 2015, Museum Mors became a state-recognised geological museum.

Moler – clay with a long and layered history

Moler is no ordinary clay. It is a geological treasure formed on the seabed about 55 million years ago – right where northern Mors lies today. Over a period of three million years, the layer grew up to 60 metres thick, and it is intersected by ash layers from volcanic eruptions, giving the moler its characteristic stripes and curved shapes.

These curved layers were shaped during the last Ice Age – and when you stand in the moler pit and look up, it almost resembles a layer cake of clay and ash. Hidden in the layers are fossils of animals and plants that lived in and around the ancient moler sea. With a small pick and a bit of luck, you can split a stone and uncover the contours of a fish, a bird – or perhaps a turtle.

Searching for fossils in the moler is a special experience. And when you do it in the middle of some of Denmark’s most beautiful scenery, it hardly gets any better.