Dinosaur tracks dating back 166 million years have been discovered in the Oxford area of the United Kingdom. This exceptional site has been cataloged in detail using 3D models.
A stunning discovery. In the United Kingdom, large dinosaur footprints were found in the Oxforshire region, west of London, the University of Oxford announced this Thursday, January 2 in a press release. It is the largest archaeological site of its type ever discovered in the country.
“The excavations, carried out at the Dewars Farm quarry in Oxfordshire, discovered five large footprints, as well as other traces in the surrounding area,” said researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham who participated in the research.
The size of these footprints is particularly imposing, the longest being estimated at “more than 150 meters long”, according to scientists. Further images of dinosaur footprints, already shared on the Oxford University website, will be revealed in the archeology show Digging for Britain January 8 on BBC Two.
“An extraordinary window into the life of dinosaurs”
According to the work carried out by archaeologists, “four of these tracks were left by gigantic, long-necked, herbivorous dinosaurs called sauropods, most likely the Cetiosaurus” and the fifth comes from a “carnivorous theropod dinosaur, the Megalosaurus which had distinctive three-toed feet and claws.
Furthermore, archaeologists have spotted “traces of carnivores and herbivores crossing paths” on the site. An element far from trivial since it “raises questions about a potential interaction between the two species and the content of these interactions”.
“These footprints provide an extraordinary window into the lives of dinosaurs, revealing details about how they moved, their interactions and the tropical environment in which they lived,” says Kirsty Edgar, professor of micropalaeontology at the University of Birmingham.
More than 200 fingerprints unearthed
The prints were discovered by a worker at a quarry operated by Smiths Bletchington, Gary Johnson, when he noticed “unusual dents” while cleaning the wheels full of clay of his car.
Archaeologists were then alerted and a vast excavation was launched last June, involving more than 100 people dispatched to the site.
In total, 200 footprints were unearthed. The site was the subject of 3D modeling using aerial photos taken by drone, which made it possible to immortalize the footprints at an “unprecedented” level of detail, according to the researchers.
“The preservation is so detailed that we can see how the mud was deformed as the dinosaur’s legs moved in and out of it. Along with other fossils like burrows, shells and plants, we can bring the dinosaur to life muddy environment of the lagoon in which the dinosaurs walked,” said Dr Duncan Murdock, a geologist at the University of Oxford.
Previous footprints discovered in the region
In 1997, previous excavations discovered more than 40 dinosaur footprints in the region, some of which were up to 180 meters long.
The site at the time allowed archaeologists to learn more about the species of dinosaurs that were present in the UK during the Middle Jurassic period and was considered a major location for excavation. Most of it is no longer accessible today.
“We can learn a lot more from the (new) site,” assured professor of paleobiology at the University of Birmingham Richard Butler, while more than 20,000 photos have already been taken.
