In the Dewars Farm quarry, located in England, archaeologists unearthed about 200 dinosaur tracks, forming five large tracks. The age of the find is estimated at 166 million years, which makes it possible to take a fresh look at the behavior of ancient dinosaurs, the Independent newspaper writes.
Key discoveries:
The longest chain of tracks reaches 150 meters. Four of the tracks belong to herbivorous dinosaurs such as sauropods and cetiosaurs (relatives of Diplodocus, up to 18 meters long). One of the paths was left by a carnivorous megalosaurus, which had three-toed clawed paws and reached 9 meters in length.
At some sites, overlapping tracks of predators and herbivores were found, which may shed light on their possible interactions.
During the week-long excavation, carried out in June 2024, a team of more than 100 specialists from the universities of Oxford and Birmingham took 20,000 photographs and created 3D models of the area using aerial photography from drones.
According to geologist Duncan Murdoch from the Natural History Museum at Oxford University, the high quality of the tracks allows us to see how the dirt was deformed under the heavy paws of dinosaurs. “These footprints not only help us understand how dinosaurs moved, but also help us reconstruct the ecosystem of the ancient lagoon where they lived,” said Professor Richard Butler from the University of Birmingham.
The new finds and 3D models created by archaeologists will provide scientists with long-term learning opportunities and make this data available to future generations.
