Versteinertes Holz auf Lesbos

On the provincial road Mithymnas – Petras, two kilometers from the settlement of Molyvos and specifically in the area of Agia Lemoni, on the cape south of Mithymna, there is a fossil horizon with rare fossils of coniferous trees.

Access to the fossil site is on foot from a path from the view point to the volcanic structure and the traditional settlement of Molyvos which leads to the beach of Agia Lemona.

The presence of the findings proves the great spread of the Petrified Forest outside the boundaries of the protected area. The most important find of this site is a giant fossilized trunk of an ancestral sequoia tree with a total length of about 18 meters. This impressive petrified trunk is protected with a special construction for its best protection and preservation. After the fossil site there is a small path that leads to the beach of the area with the intense volcanic element (a result of the intense volcanic activity from the Lepetymnos volcano) and the beautiful blue waters.

Sequoias, giant members of the cypress family, lived in the forests of Lesvos 20 million years ago. These are primitive species of the modern sequoia, which belongs to the species Sequoia sempervirens and is the largest tree on our planet, since some trees reach a height of about 120m.

Paleontology-wise, it is an important site, being the northernmost lower Miocene part of the subtropical forest. 

 (Unfortunately, the site is terribly neglected.)

2) Another location you can Vistit:

The Petrified Forest Park in Bali Alonia is the first outdoor visiting park of the Petrified Forest. It was created in 1987 and since the 18th century the area has been known as “Kiria Apolithomeni”.

Visiting the park is without doubt an unforgettable experience. The number of standing fossilized tree trunks, but also the excellent condition of their preservation, impress all visitors.

The systematic excavation carried out by the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest at the area of the park has brought to light many plant fossils, including the highest known standing trunk of a fossilized tree, not only in Lesvos, but also in Europe. Its height reaches 7.02 meters and its perimeter 8.58 meters and it is am ancestral form of the present-day Sequoia.

During the excavations implemented by the Museum, a great number of fossilized plants  (fruits, leaves, branches, roots) have also been discovered, now displayed at the exhibition halls of the Museum.

During your visit at the park, you can admire the unique primitive forms of Pine trees, the ancestors of present-day Pines, forming small clusters.

The majority of the fossilized trunks belong to the Taxodiaceae family and are primitive forms of the present-day Sequoia, which today grows on the west coast of the United States. To this family also belong the largest lying fossilized trunk of a conifer tree (with a length of more than 20 meters), as well as the large standing trunks of Sequoias.

The Museum has designed three thematic walking routes for the visitors of the park.

At the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest you can find the Guide to the Petrified Forest Park that provides detailed information about all the fossil-bearing positions and the walking trails.

Please note that there is no shade here! Please remember to wear sunscreen, a hat, and plenty of water!

3) Another location you can Vistit:

Plaka Park

You have the chance to admire the impressive fossilized trunk of a poplar tree in the coastal zone of Plaka Park, as well as the giant fossilized trunk of a cinnamon tree, 13.7 meters in perimeter and 3.70 meters in diameter, which is - according to the world bibliography - the largest standing fossilized tree trunk in the whole world.

In both parts of the Park you can visit fossil-bearing positions with impressive plant fossils, which were discovered during the research of the Museum of Natural History of the Lesvos Petrified Forest. These are mainly root nodes, root systems and lower trunk parts.

During your tour in the Plaka Park, you can get to know the pine trees and a wide variety of fruit-bearing plants (angiosperms), which do not appear in such a great variety in any other place, thus composing the vegetation of Lesvos 20 million years ago. You can find plant fossils that correspond to present-day pines, cinnamon and laurel trees, poplars, plane and palm trees. It is a different zone of forest vegetation, in which the broad-leaved and fruit-bearing species are found.

The finds include the giant fossilized trunk, with a perimeter of 13.7 meters and a diameter of 3.70 meters, which is - according to the world bibliography - the largest standing fossilized trunk in the whole world. This tree belongs to the Laurel family. Part of its root system was discovered in the lower part of the trunk, which proves that the trunk is in exactly the same position where the tree grew before it was fossilized.

At the coastal zone of the park you can find the impressive lying petrified tree trunk, 14 meters long.

Following the walking trails, you can visit all the fossil sites. There are also three resting points that offer great view to the village of Sigri and the islet of Nissiopi.

At the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest you can find the Guide to the Plaka Park that provides detailed information about all the fossil-bearing positions and the walking trails.

Tip: Also visit the Natural History Museum in Sigri!

The Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest (Greek: Μουσείο Φυσικής Ιστορίας Απολιθωμένου Δάσους Λέσβου) is a geological museum located in the village of Sigri on the island of Lesbos in Greece. Established in 1994, it is a center for the study, management, and preservation of the petrified forest of Lesbos and for public education about the site. It is a founding member of the European Geoparks Network and is a member of UNESCO's Global Geoparks Network.

Useful Links

Source: https://www.lesvosmuseum.gr/en