History

The earliest known account of Lebanese fossils is attributed to Herodotus.[1][2] The existence of fossil fishes in the Lebanon is referred to by Jean de Joinville. In his Histoire de Saint Louis he wrote that during the sojourn of King Louis IX of France at Sidon in 1253, just before his return home from the Seventh Crusade, a stone was brought him,
“     which was the most marvellous in the world, for when a layer of it was lifted, there was found between the two pieces the form of a fish. The fish was of stone, but lacked nothing in form, eyes, bones, colour, or anything necessary to a living fish.[3]     ”

European scientists became interested in Lebanese fossils in the 19th century.[1]