Gary Johnson, a worker at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, stumbled upon an enormous dinosaur trackway while clearing clay with a digger. The discovery has revealed about 200 large footprints dating back to nearly 166m years ago, making it the biggest dinosaur trackway ever found in Britain.
The trackways are believed to have been made by two types of dinosaurs: the herbivorous cetiosaurus and the smaller carnivorous megalosaurus. Researchers from the universities of Oxford and Birmingham have discovered five separate trackways stretching up to 150 metres in length, with experts predicting that much more could be uncovered as only part of the quarry has been excavated.
The team, which includes over 100 scientists, students, and volunteers, used advanced techniques such as aerial drones to create detailed 3D models of the site and recorded 20,000 photographs. The project will feature on the BBC series Digging for Britain next week.
According to Dr. Kirsty Edgar, a micropalaeontologist from the University of Birmingham, the trackways provide a unique insight into the life of the dinosaurs that lived during this time period. “You can step back in time and get an idea of what it would have been like, these massive creatures just roaming around, going about their own business.”
The discovery also sheds light on the behavior of the megalosaurus, with researchers finding evidence of its three-toed prints. Dr. Emma Nicholls, a vertebrate palaeontologist from the University of Oxford Museum of Natural History, described the print as “almost like a caricature of a dinosaur footprint”.
The team’s findings are significant, providing a rare glimpse into the life of these prehistoric creatures. However, the reasons behind the preservation of the trackways remain unknown, with experts speculating that it may have been due to a storm event that deposited sediments on top of the footprints.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/02/large-dinosaur-footprints-oxfordshire-quarry-cetiosaurus-megalosaurus