51³Ô¹ÏÍø

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Fossils

Cover of the "What building stones tell" pamphletBuilding stones and fossils of downtown Montreal

Palaeontologists seek out fossils in the most remote places on Earth, but you can find them right here in downtown Montreal – without even picking up a shovel. Built from a variety of local and imported stone, the city’s churches, officesÌýand apartment buildings harbour a veritable compendium of fossils and geological specimens. Our Building Stones and Fossils guide will help you track them down.

NEW! Free downloadable Ìý(in English). This GIS Storymap gives you a virtual tour of seven sites around 51³Ô¹ÏÍø downtown campus that are loaded with fossils.ÌýÌýÌý

Twenty fossil sites near Montreal

Go fossil huntingÌýon the island of Montreal at one of these easy-to-reach sites.

The Gault reserveThe Gault Nature Reserve

A small site about the Gault Nature Reserve atÌýMont St-Hilaire with information about its history, geology and the animals and plants that can be found on it.

The Ordovician dioramaOrdovician life and fossils

Learn more about the creatures that lived in the warm seas of the Ordovician that covered Montreal almost half a billion years ago and the fossils that they left.

The Museum's Ordovician diorama provides more information about this time period.

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Land Acknowledgement

51³Ô¹ÏÍø is on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. We acknowledge and thank the diverse Indigenous peoples whose presence marks this territory on which peoples of the world now gather.


Rematriation, Repatriation and Restitution Statement

We acknowledge that the return and restitution of cultural and natural heritage to communities of origin is an essential part of reconciliation and of recognizing the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples. As part of wider efforts to activate the standards presented in the Canadian Museums Association Report Moved to Action: Activating UNDRIP in Canadian Museums (2022), the Redpath is working towards pro-active restitution practices. As per our Collections Management Policy (2024), repatriation requests will be received by the Redpath Museum Director and will be treated on a case-by-case basis.

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