The much-awaited fossil museum at Varanavasi near Ariyalur town is almost complete. The state-of-the-art museum is likely to be opened by the Chief Minister in a few days.
The 100-acre museum will showcase the natural formation of rocks that provide evidence of the existence of dinosaurs and other associated reptilians in the Ariyalur region. A building with provisions to exhibit fossils, rocks and minerals from the Precambrian, Jurassic and Cretaceous period has been constructed. Besides fossils, the museum will have on display rocks of marine origin dating back several million years.
A 40-acre section of the site museum will exhibit small and big mounds, signifying layers of land-formation over millions of years. Some layers of the mounds will help study the geology of the entire area, officials said.
Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture ‘Ma Foi’ K. Pandiarajan, who inspected the progress of the museum on Thursday, said it would stand out as a model for showcasing the history of life on Earth.
Since it was one of the very few museums dedicated for fossils in the world, Mr. Pandiarajan said the State would take steps to put it on the world tourism map and would strive to bring in international tourists and geologists.
