The first fossils of Skryje were known even before Barrande came here, but it was his writings that made them world-famous. Barrande did collect fossils himself, but he paid quarry men to do the main physical work for him. He initially paid them by the piece for bringing in fossils they found in the quarries during quarrying, but he eventually took them on as full-time employees. Some of them gradually became skilled in identifying fossils and sorting them. Barrande funded this work with his own money. Today, palaeontologists examine the geological profile vertically – chronologically layer by layer. Barrande, however, acted more like a collector: He found a layer rich in fossils and had quarry men work on it horizontally. This technique ensured rich finds but the sequence (and therefore the evolution) hidden in the record escaped him.
Barrande`s scientific work consists of twenty-two volumes of Silurian System of Central Bohemia(Système silurien du centre de la Bohême). One of the geological localities in Bohemia has been named Barrandien in his honour.
A monument to him was unveiled in Skryje in 1968 as part of the International Geological Congress. It was made by by the sculptor Viktor Dobrovolný and it is Barrande`s bust set in a stone relief that represents a trilobite imprint. The inscription on the monument reads Joachim Barrande – made Skryje famous by a palaeontological work on trilobites ─ Système silurien du centre de la Bohême. The monument was unveiled upon the opening of the museum and was an important social and academic event.
The nature trail In the Footsteps of the Trilobite was built by the Agency for Nature and Landscape Conservation of the Czech Republic in 2014. The trail explains the geological history of the Earth and the history of Barrande`s activities in Bohemia. The trail starts at the museum and takes visitors around Skryje through interesting geological localities.
Horný, R., Turek, V.: Joachim Barrande (1799–1893), Život, dílo a odkaz světové paleontologii. Národní muzeum, přírodovědecké muzeum, Praha 1999, 56 pp.
Marek, J., Šarič, R., Kácha, P.: Joachim Barrande, Říkali mu jemnostpán – People called him gentle man, Česká geologická služba, Praha 2013, 66 pp.
Kříž, J.: Joachim Barrande. Český geologický ústav, Praha 1999.
Svoboda, J., Prantl, F.: Barrandien. Geologie středočeského siluru a devonu v obrazech. ČSAV Praha 1958, s. 33─54.
Chlupáč, I. (eds.): Paleozoikum Barrandienu. Český geologický ústav, Praha 1992.
