A worker extracting clay from a limestone quarry in the south of England noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a “dinosaur highway” with almost 200 footprints dating back 166 million years, as reported by researchers.
This extraordinary finding was made after a team of over 100 people excavated Dewars Farm quarry in Oxfordshire in June.
A glimpse into the “dinosaur highway”
The footprints found provide a detailed look into the life of dinosaurs, revealing their movements, interactions, and the tropical environment they inhabited.
Four sets of footprints show the paths taken by gigantic herbivores with long necks, called sauropods, likely from the Cetiosaurus species, which could reach almost 18 meters in length. A fifth set belonged to the Megalosaurus, a fierce 9-meter predator known for its distinctive triple claw print.
Technology and future research
The group working on the site took over 20,000 digital images and used drones to create 3D models of the footprints. This detailed documentation will assist in future studies and could shed light on the size of the dinosaurs, how they walked, and the speed at which they moved.
“The preservation is so detailed that we can see how the mud deformed as the dinosaurs’ feet sank and rose,” explained Duncan Murdock, a scientist from the Natural History Museum at the University of Oxford.
The findings will be displayed in a new exhibition at the museum and will also be featured in the BBC program “Digging for Britain” next week.
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