Nearly 200 dinosaur tracks have been discovered by researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham in the Oxfordshire region of the United Kingdom. This exceptional site has been cataloged in detail using 3D models.
The largest archaeological site ever revealed in the UK. Nearly 200 dinosaur footprints have been found in the Oxfordshire region of southeast England, the universities of Oxford and Birmingham jointly announced.
These impressive footprints left 166 million years ago by five dinosaurs will be revealed on the archeology show Digging for Britain on January 8 on BBC Two.
The tracks traced by dinosaur footsteps are particularly imposing, the longest being estimated at “more than 150 meters long”, according to scientists. “It is very rare to find such large numbers in the same place, and to discover such extensive tracks,” Emma Nicholls, a paleontologist specializing in vertebrates at the Natural History Museum of the University of London, told AFP. ‘Oxford. According to her, it could therefore be one of the largest footprint sites in the world. The place is even described as a “dinosaur highway”, where herbivores and carnivores crossed paths.
A 3D MODELING
The first prints were discovered by a worker working in a quarry operated by Smiths Bletchington. Gary Johnson noticed “unusual bumps” while cleaning his car’s clay-filled wheels.
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.
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.
