Remnants of the world’s oldest fossilized forests and trees, dating back 390 million years, have been uncovered along the Devon and Somerset coast among high sandstone cliffs. This makes the Somerset forest as being between four and five million years older than the previous record holder, found in Cairo, New York, in the United States. The ripple marks in the Somerset cliffs are the fossils of the world’s oldest forest floor (CNN / Neil Davies)The Devonian Period also witnessed the establishment of the earliest land animals, predominantly arthropods. It uncovered a wealth of plant fossil material from the Devonian period within the sandstone formation. Top image: Detail of a fallen tree trunk from the world’s oldest fossilized forest discovered in Somerset.
