A Quarry Worker Named Gary Johnson Once Felt "Unusual Bumps" And Found A Ton Of Dinosaur Tracks
June 15, 2024, Was Not An Ordinary Day
On a fateful day on June 15, 2024, Gary Johnson, a quarry worker, felt “unusual bumps” while driving his digger. It turns out that beneath all that bumpy terrain was a dinosaur’s footprint.
Here’s What Gary Johnson Did
After Johnson found the bumps unusual, he did a little digging himself, only to uncover a bigger issue that only experts could address. So, he promptly contacted experts from the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham to take over the excavation and further investigation. They sent in an excavation team.
Vast dinosaur footprints found in quarry date back 166 million years | BBC News by BBC News
They Found A Pathway From 166 Million Years Ago
The fossilized track they found dates back to the Middle Jurassic period, around 166 million years ago. The prints found in Oxfordshire’s clay reveal an ancient highway trodden by dinosaurs as they moved across a prehistoric marshland, leaving an incredible time capsule beneath the earth.
Vast dinosaur footprints found in quarry date back 166 million years | BBC News by BBC News
It’s The Largest Dinosaur Trackway In Britain
Largest doesn’t even begin to describe it. This trackway stretches over 50 feet, a feat showing a frozen dinosaur parade. It’s the longest trackway ever found in the UK, with perfectly preserved footprints that point to the passing of ancient gigantic creatures.
Vast dinosaur footprints found in quarry date back 166 million years | BBC News by BBC News
But How Did They Verify Its Authenticity?
Paleontologists used laser scanning to measure each impression and cross-referenced the patterns with global databases. These pristine tracks are like a treasure map from the past, and they are so rare they tell us secrets about how these giants lived together. Who wouldn't want to trace those ancient paths?
Laser scanning Ediacaran fossil Charniodiscus by Emily Mitchell