Researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham have discovered approximately 200 giant dinosaur footprints at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, marking the largest footprint site in the UK.
The footprints, dating back to the Middle Jurassic Period, approximately 166 million years ago, indicate a significant "dinosaur highway". The site includes trackways from various dinosaurs, including the nine-meter-long predator Megalosaurus and massive herbivorous dinosaurs, likely Cetiosaurus, reaching lengths of up to 18 meters.
This excavation revealed five extensive trackways, with evidence suggesting more footprints in the vicinity. The discovery was initiated when quarry worker Gary Johnson noticed unusual bumps while stripping clay from the quarry floor.
Following this, a team of over 100 experts conducted a week-long excavation in June 2024, meticulously uncovering the footprints and utilizing aerial drone photography to create detailed 3D models of the site.
Emma Nicholls, a vertebrate palaeontologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, emphasized the significance of these findings, stating, "Scientists have known about and been studying Megalosaurus for longer than any other dinosaur on Earth, and yet these recent discoveries prove there is still new evidence of these animals out there, waiting to be found." The footprints provide an extraordinary insight into the behavior and environment of dinosaurs during the Jurassic period.