A sedimentary deposit that is of value because of the fossils it contains. A fossil-Lagerstätte contains an abundance of fossils; a conservation-Lagerstätte is a stratum in which fossils are exceptionally well preserved; a concentration-Lagerstätte is a large accumulation of fossils of particular species, such as a shell bed. The term was introduced by Adolf Seilacher, from the German Lager, ‘stratum’, and Stätte, ‘place’.