FOOL’S GOLD

In the vernacular, nodules of the mineral pyrite are often referred to as fool’s gold.

Reichenbach near Aalen is a famous site where ammonites have been found embedded in such shiny golden pyrite nodules.

However, the beauty of the finds led to deep trenches being dug into the mountainside there – and one morning the whole slope started to slide and buried the road passing by. Since then, any search for fossils has been strictly forbidden here.