Researchers Find ‘Insanely Big’ Dinosaur Footprints From Over 160 Million Years Ago in a Quarry
It’s always a thrilling discovery when scientists, researchers, and archaeologists come across unique footprints from the past. Such fascinating discoveries offer clues about how wild creatures once lived and traveled across different regions. While many such unusual footprints have already been discovered over the years, there are many more hidden in different parts of the world. In one such news, scientists in the United Kingdom have recently discovered mysterious footprints, which they believe may have been left by the dinosaurs millions of years ago. It is also being labeled as one of the most extensive dinosaur trackways ever found in the European region.
The team of researchers, which was co-led by the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the University of Birmingham, made this astonishing discovery during a limestone extraction at Dewars Farm Quarry near Bicester. Workers came across an incredible 220-meter-long trail of footprints left behind by a massive, herbivorous dinosaur species called Cetiosaurus. These species are known for their long necks and tails, growing up to 16 meters in length. Dating back roughly around 165 to 171 million years, the footprints offer a rare and detailed glimpse into the life of these ancient Jurassic giants, as reported by The Independent.
As reported by the BBC, Emma Nicholls from Oxford University’s Museum of Natural History, spoke of this discovery and said, “These footprints are insanely big. They’re the massive footprints of a sauropod dinosaur; probably Cetiosaurus, which is a dinosaur that we know was found in this area.” Similarly, Dr Duncan Murdock also said, “We’ve been working at this site since 2022 and slowly uncovering more and more of this surface. This summer we excavated four trackways, the longest of which is 220 meters, with nearly 100 individual footprints, each of which is nearly a meter long itself – so absolutely huge.”
Along with this, the group also found a few three-toed footprints, which reportedly belonged to meat-eating megalosaurs, which measured up to 9 meters long. These footprints offer fresh insight into how the giant dinosaurs moved from one place to another, especially their walking speed. According to Murdock, scientists estimated this by carefully observing both the size of the footprints and the distance between each step. He said, “We estimate [the dinosaur’s speed to be] about 4 or 5 miles an hour – around the average walking speed of most people.” Dewars Farm Quarry isn’t new to dinosaur discoveries, as traces of ancient trackways were previously also found in the region in the 1990s.
These tracks of footprints were likely made within a few weeks, but their survival until millions of years later is remarkable. One of the experts revealed that footprints were reportedly made when the dinosaur walked through soft mud. Its heavy feet pressed deep prints that later dried under the sun, and new layers of sediment covered and protected them for millions of years. As excavation continues, additional dinosaur trackways will likely be revealed in the future. Dr Nicholls further said, “Even after being a paleontologist for over 20 years, it still gives you that tingling feeling to see these footprints. It's humbling.”
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