Fossil hunter finds 185M-year-old ‘golden snitch’ with ancient sea creature inside

Fossils shaped like Quidditchball are only a few of the many discoveries made by amateur archeologist Aaron Smith.

On the cliffs of Whitby, Yorkshire, the medical student found various fossil items from the Jurassic period. Perhaps the most spectacular is a 185 million-year-old fossil encased by what looks like a ‘golden canon’ ball.

Fossil hunter finds 185M-year-old ‘golden snitch’ with ancient sea creature inside

It is technically a rock that is coated in iron pyrite, also known as ‘fools gold’, and if you shine this material, just like Smith did, then it turns shiny and gold.

The phenomenal piece of history is thought to be 185 million-years-old and was found on Sandsend Beach. Mr. Smith, 23, is a seasoned fossil collector and continues to go and explore the seaside in hope of finding similar treasures.

He said: “In order to find fossils, pretty much anywhere in the world, you just need to put in a lot of dedication!


Smith cut the sphere open to reveal the prehistoric insides


The fossils inside are of cleviceras

“The majority of the time there is nothing really to be found but every now and again, if you’re lucky enough, and something has appeared due to a storm, for example, then you might find a rock with a fossil inside it.

“When you find a fossil, then the long intricate process begins of carefully removing the stone to expose the fossil, this can take hundreds of hours in many cases.

“It’s very exciting discovering the fossils. It makes it all worthwhile after spending months of searching.”


Aaron Smith enjoys fossil hunting in his free time

When the medical student opened up one of his freshly shined pieces of iron pyrite he found spiral-shaped cleviceras fossils. Cleviceras is an extinct type of cephalopod creature. The best-known cephalopods today are probably squids and octopuses.

The golden-snitch-like spheres with a limestone core are actually common along the Yorkshire coastline and can be found amongst the stones and shales.

Mr. Smith has previously posted a video of the golden-snitch fossil online and captioned it: “Here’s a video of us opening one of our huge Cannon Ball fossils.

“The limestone nodule is coated in Iron Pyrite, meaning we can polish it to become Golden, seen in our previous videos.


“It still impresses me that these 185 Million-Year-Old fossils are along our beautiful Yorkshire Coastline waiting to be found.”

Related Posts

Kanye West has teeth REMOVED and replaced with $850K TITANIUM dentures ‘more expensive than diamonds’ – as rapper compares himself to James Bond villain Jaws

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is apparently into heavy metal now.On Wednesday, Ye shared a picture on Instagram of what appeared to be metallic dentures. The…

Woman linked to Offset issues tearful apology to Cardi B: ‘I never meant to break up a happy home’

Summer Bunni says she has not “messed” with Offset since he and Cardi B’s daughter Kulture Kiari was born in tearful apology to the “Bodak Yellow” singer.The…

Offset begs Cardi B for head at 5 AM without brushing her teeth

Offset and Cardi B are never shy with sharing their love life. Watch this video below if you don’t understand what I mean!Cardi B and husband Offset…

Offset and Cardi have a good time talking with fans together and do some fun things

Cardi B and ex-hubby Offset enjoy their time while talking with fans online. Watch it!Cardi B and husband Offset’s relationship has endedThe “Bodak Yellow” rapper, 31, confirmed…

Fans beg Cardi B not to get back to Offset as rapper once admitted she hasn’t had it for a long time

Cardi B continues to spark divorce rumors from husband Offset.On a recent Instagram Live, the “Bodak Yellow” artist talked about New Year’s resolutions and making the decision…

“Your gpa is below 2.0”, “Female LeBron”: Fans voice mixed reactions to Angel Reese’s lofty IG post

LSU Tigers superstar Angel Reese saw mixed reactions coming her way after he took to Instagram to post a lofty post. The 2023 NCAA champion has been…