Hundreds of dinosaur footprints discovered on ‘dinosaur highway’ in Oxfordshire quarry
2 January 2025, 21:03
Hundreds of dinosaur footprints from around 166 million years ago have been found at an Oxfordshire quarry, forming part of a ‘dinosaur highway’.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham have uncovered hundreds of dinosaur footprints, creating five enormous trackways on a huge expanse of quarry floor in Oxfordshire.
The footprints date back to the Middle Jurassic Period, which means the gigantic trackways were made as far back as 166 million years ago.
The trackways form part of a massive ‘dinosaur highway’, and prints from both carnivores and herbivores have been found crossing, raising questions about how much the two might have interacted.
The longest continuous trackway measured more than 150 metres in length.
The prints were found after a worker in the Dewars Farm Quarry noticed ‘unusual bumps’ in the surface of the limestone.
Read more: Government and regulator have broken the law on sewage, watchdog says
Four of the tracks were made by enormous, long-necked herbivores called sauropods, most likely Cetiosaurus, a cousin of the Diplodocus which could grow up to 18 meters tall.
The fifth track was made by a ferocious carnivorous predator, Megalosaurus, which had distinctive, large, three-toed feet with claws.
Dr Emma Nicholls, Vertebrate Palaeontologist at Oxford University Museum of Natural History said: “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.”
Megalosaurus was the first dinosaur worldwide to be scientifically named and described in 1824, and kick-started the last 200 years of dinosaur science.
The footprints were buried under mud but came to light when quarry worker Gary Johnson felt 'unusual bumps' as he was stripping the clay back with his vehicle, in order to expose the quarry floor.
After this discovery, the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham co-led a team of more than 100 people on a week-long excavation last June, working closely with Quarry Manager Mark Stanway and his staff of more than 100.
Together, they painstakingly uncovered around 200 footprints and built detailed 3D models of the site using aerial drone photography – documenting the footprints in unprecedented detail for future research.
Professor Kirsty Edgar, Professor of Micropalaeontology at the University of Birmingham, said: 'These footprints offer an extraordinary window into the lives of dinosaurs, revealing details about their movements, interactions, and the tropical environment they inhabited.'
The new trackways are related to discoveries made in the area in 1997, which revealed more than 40 sets of footprints, with some trackways reaching up to 180 meters in length.
At the time, the site provided major new information on the types of dinosaurs present in the UK during the Middle Jurassic Period.
The site was recognised as one of the most scientifically important dinosaur track sites in the world and subsequently designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
However, the original site is largely no longer accessible and, since the findings predated the use of digital cameras and drones, there is limited photographic evidence.
The new trackways add to the significance of the area, and even though the discoveries are separated by just thirty years, modern techniques and technology mean the prints can be recorded much more comprehensively than ever before.
Professor Richard Butler, Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Birmingham, said: “There is much more that we can learn from this site, which is an important part of our national Earth heritage.
“Our 3D models will allow researchers to continue to study and make accessible this fascinating piece of our past for generations to come.”
More than 20,000 images were created of the prints, which will allow researchers to provide valuable insights into how these dinosaurs walked, how large they were, and if and how they interacted.
Dr Duncan Murdock, Earth Scientist at OUMNH, said: 'The preservation is so detailed that we can see how the mud was deformed as the dinosaur’s feet squelched in and out.
“Along with other fossils like burrows, shells and plants we can bring to life the muddy lagoon environment the dinosaurs walked through.”
