Starkočský lom, Natural monument in Starkoč, Czech Republic.

Starkočský lom is a 0.61-hectare natural monument about 1 km southwest of Starkoč, near Čáslav. The former quarry lies at 225–235 m and is now densely overgrown with shrubs, surrounded by fields. Its Cretaceous sediments hold fossils, and its paragneiss and migmatite rocks contain almandine garnets.

The site functioned as a quarry for road construction materials until operations stopped in the 1930s. After closure, the excavated area gradually filled with water and transformed its appearance completely.

Fossils from the Upper Cretaceous sea include the coral Isis miranda and the sponge Gribrospondia, the latter found nowhere else in the Czech Republic. The quarry is also a classic mineralogical site, known for almandine garnets up to 5 cm across, kyanite, dumortierite and blue tourmaline.

The quarry lies about 1 km southwest of Starkoč, roughly 9 km northeast of Čáslav, surrounded by fields. The 0.61 ha site is densely overgrown with shrubs and practically dry, so paths are faint and the rock faces often hidden; wear sturdy footwear and leave fossils and minerals in place.

Almandine garnets from the quarry reach up to 5 cm across, red with violet or brown tints, but they are heavily fractured and were never cut for jewellery. The same paragneiss also yields kyanite, dumortierite, blue tourmaline and centimetre-sized nodules of arsenopyrite.