The
Rhynie chert is an Early
Devonian sedimentary deposit exhibiting extraordinary
fossil detail or completeness (a
Lagerstätte). It is exposed near the village of
Rhynie, Aberdeenshire,
Scotland; a second unit, the
Windyfield chert, is located some 700 m away. The Rhynie chert contains exceptionally preserved plant, fungus, lichen and animal material preserved in place by an overlying
volcanic deposit. The bulk of the fossil bed consists of primitive
plants (which had
water-conducting cells and
sporangia, but no true
leaves), along with
arthropods, lichens, algae and fungi.