Ichthyolith IssuesSpecial Publication 5 resulted [more in Issue 21 and see web site]

IGCP 406 ~ 2000
Meetingsfor 2000, the final year of the project, include a workshop in association with the Early Vertebrates meeting in Flagstaff, Arizona, together with field excursions to the southwestern USA, and the final Annual Meeting to be held in Syktyvkar, Russia, which will include a field excursion to the Ordovician through Carboniferous of the subpolar Urals (see web site).
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IGCP 421 & ECOS VII: Pre- symposium field trip (and cultural delights) - Sardinia 20-22 June 1998

29 workers from 10 countries attended this trip. They set off with their newly acquired ECOS VII rucksacks to the first locality, in the Upper Ordovician of Cea Brabetza, near San Basilio, which was some way up a small track; minibuses were used lest the conodont workers should have to walk too far in the Sardinian sunshine. Detailed explanation of the geology and conodonts of the roadside outcrop was given by Annalisa Ferretti, Enrico Serpagli, Francesco Leone and Alfredo Loi (with occasional translation by Gian Luigi Pillola).
We walked to Locality 2 in Silurian rocks 500m east of Silius Village, using a field path that had been generouslycleared by the local farmers. Sample bags and hammers at the ready, we listened as Enrico, Carlo Corradini and Annalisa describe geology and conodonts with the aid of some finely crafted posters. Samples were taken, and sunblock applied as the sun rose further into the cloudless sky.
Staying in the Silurian Ockerkalk, the next locality featured nodular limestone with loboliths. Lunch followed in a small farmhouse where we were greeted by the (soon to become familiar) smell of barbecued sucking pig - the vegetarians among us found this a trifle difficult to cope with, even the omnivorous Chief Panderer Dick Aldridge.
A slight leap up the stratigraphic column took us to the Upper Devonian (Famennian) near Villasalto village where two sections were examined. Carlo and Gian Luigi provided yet another superb explanation of the geology before we embarked on possibly the most strenuous walk of the day, which actually involved a slight incline. People marvelled at the climbing expertise of the younger Repetski (Rocco, age 12). After a wonderful first day we sat on the terrace sipping drinks kindly bought by the Mayor of Villasalto.
Day two began in the Cambrian Cabitza Formation of southwest Sardinia, where the conodont faunas have been completely remineralised to a fetching shade of green

Section from Sardinian fieldguide

Near Fluminimaggiore small, but attractive, exposures of Orthoceras Limestone (Wenlock-Ludlow) impressed everyone with the macrofossils (nautiloids, graptolites and bivalves). Once again, the quality of posters used to aid description of the outcrop and a further repast of gargantuan proportions, accompanied by plenty of wine and water, fulfilled us.
The last geological stop was a Lower Devonian section near Fluminimaggiore. The 14m outcrop of limestones and mudstones contains an abundant conodont fauna and a variety of macrofossils from the Mason Porcus Formation (deltaZone). Samples were enthusiastically collected before return to the bus, where Gian Luigi and Alfredo provided an impromptu water flinging entertainment in a horse trough.
It is not possible to visit Sardinia and concentrate solely on geological aspects, so a deviation into archaeology concluded the day. The Nuraghe settlement dating back to between the XIII and IX centuries BC consisted of a large central cone-shaped tower, surrounded by, and connected to, five smaller towers around which a town was built. Barry Fordham posed a pertinent question on the subject of the symbolic statues and the relevance of the number of breasts these possess. The answer is, for those of you who are interested, that most female statues have

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