The hidden treasures of the Lebanese mountains

Tamara El Hossny, PhD student in paleontology, presents the site of Haqel, an exceptional fossiliferous deposit located a few kilometers from Beirut. Among the fossils discovered there are Cretaceous fishes that Tamara studies in detail at the Museum of Natural History of Geneva (Switzerland). She explains why this site is important for the understanding of the evolution of life but also for the study of past climates. Pierre, from the Abi-Saad family, fossil hunters for 3 generations and owners of the Haqel site, shares his excavation work as well as the family museum in Byblos where more incredible specimens are exposed. Dr. Lionel Cavin, paleontologist at the Museum of Natural History of Geneva, presents the history of the collaboration between Switzerland and Lebanon on the study of lebanese fossils, which began with the work of the famous Swiss naturalists Aloïs Humbert and François-Jules Pictet De La Rive in the 19th century.