The Camp dels Ninots is located in the western part of the town of Caldes de Malavella (Girona), at 20 km to the south of the city of Girona, with a 275.000 m2 surface. Its UTM (ETRS89) coordinates are 483202E and 46311454N, and with a height of 93 m according to sea level (Fig. 1). The name Camp dels Ninots (field of puppets) is related to the presence of abundant diagenetic silica nodules with rounded shapes (menilites), which are mostly made of opal (SiO2·nH2O), that have been classically collected by locals. The Camp dels Ninots site is a phreatomagmatic explosion volcano of Pliocene age (3.1 Ma) which subsequently formed a lake. The specific geological conditions, corresponding to lake sedimentation, make it ideal for the preservation of fossils. The appearance of complete skeletons mostly in anatomical connection makes the site to be considered, according to the German term, a Fossil-Lagerstätte. Currently, the lands that make up the Camp dels Ninots are agricultural fields, mostly cereals, although, they are also remarkable for the many wells that, until a few years ago, were employed to extract water for industrial use.

The Camp dels Ninots project is sponsored by projects 2014-100575 (Generalitat de Catalunya), SGR2017-859 (AGAUR) and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain, under project CGL2016-80000-P (MINECO).

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