Bill Eberlein of Richmond Hill might have one of the most interesting jobs in Georgia, but to him it’s not work; it’s a passion. Eberlein scuba-dives off the Georgia coast for ancient Megalodon shark teeth or the occasional mammoth fossil.
Eberlein had a tech job and even did some teaching of computer technology and accounting at the local technical college in his spare time, but when a friend introduced him to the historical treasures found off of the Georgia coast, he left traditional work behind in 2012.
You wonder how an ocean-dwelling megalodon shark can end up in the same location as a land-dwelling mammoth? Over millions of years, the sea level has changed dramatically. From 251 million to 65 million years ago, the south half of Georgia was under the ocean.
This ancient coastline ran from Columbus to Macon to Augusta and today is referred to as the Fall Line. The ocean eventually receded as much of the Earth’s water became locked into ice. As temperatures increased, the sea level rose and covered dry land where ancient mammoths, horses, camels, sloths, bison and other mammals thrived.
On the hunt
Eberlein uses his boat to explore Georgia’s coastal waters, and several times a week, year-round, he scuba-dives in water that is typically 40 feet to 80 feet deep to search for shark teeth and fossils.
His primary target is teeth from megalodons, which once were the biggest predators in the ocean. Megalodon means “big tooth” in Greek, and these fearsome creatures were up to 60 feet long and weighed 80 or more tons. They disappeared about 3 million years ago, but their teeth remain. Mammoths—predecessors of today’s elephants— roamed Georgia but disappeared 10,000 years ago.
Georgia’s deeper coastal water is cold, especially in the wintertime, so Eberlein wears a wet suit under his dry suit, which normally keeps him dry. Because the suit is very buoyant, it takes a 50-pound weight belt to keep him on the bottom. Underwater visibility is always very poor. Even with a strong halogen head lamp, he usually can see less than a foot in front of him. Eberlein uses his hands to sift through the bottom, stirring up mud and looking for fossils.
While Eberlein’s job is interesting, it also is dangerous. He frequently encounters alligators, stingrays and sharks. While he’s diving, creatures sometimes bump into him, and something—probably a shark—has grabbed his fin and spun him around. Another time, the currents carried him out far into the ocean, and the Coast Guard had to be called by his boat captain to rescue him. He always has a boat captain with him but now also runs a line to his anchor for safety.
Eberlein regularly showcases the fossils he finds at events in the Southeast and sells museum-quality megalodon shark teeth to the public.
“Kids especially are fascinated [by] huge megalodon sharks, mastodons and dinosaurs, and that one encounter with a real fossil can inspire a lifetime of interest in natural history and continued learning,” he says.
John Trussell is a retired chief probation officer and writes outdoor and historical articles. He lives in Warner Robins
Below: Photo by Dodie Gay-Eberlein
