Excavations by researchers at the Natural History Museum for the Lesvos Petrified Forest took place near road works for the construction of a new road from the towns of Kalloni to Sigrio on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos. The scientists responsible for preserving other sections of the ‘Petrified Forest’ found new traces of fossilized tree trunks. Finds included unprecedented numbers of fossilized tree trunks both of coniferous and flowering trees such as oaks, laurels, palms, cypresses and pines. There were also volcanic layers with a large variety of species such as cinnamon, coconut palms, palm trees and others that show the presence of an extensive sub-tropical forest covered by violent volcanic eruptions.

Visitors can view these finds from Saturday at Sigri as part of the museum’s grand new exhibition.