A network of nearly 200 dinosaur footprints, dating back to the Middle Jurassic period, has been found at a quarry in Oxfordshire, marking the largest discovery of its kind in the United Kingdom. The trackways, believed to be around 166 million years old, were uncovered at Dewars Farm Quarry by researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham.

They are part of a vast “dinosaur highway” and feature footprints from the 9-metre-long, fierce predator Megalosaurus and herbivorous dinosaurs that were up to twice its size, according to a news release by the University of Birmingham.

Gary Johnson, a quarry worker, first noticed unusual indentations while extracting limestone for roadworks in 2023. His discovery has since drawn attention from palaeontologists eager to piece together a more detailed picture of life in the Jurassic era.

Our palaeontologists worked with their counterparts from @UniofOxford to uncover a huge expanse of quarry floor filled with hundreds of different prehistoric footprints on Britain’s ‘dinosaur highway’ https://t.co/UIWhfbCV8y pic.twitter.com/HbbemtftqH

— UniBirmingham News (@news_ub) January 2, 2025

“It’s like a snapshot into the day of the (dinosaurs’) life, and what they were doing,” said Dr Kirsty Edgar, a micropalaeontologist, who was part of the excavation, in a statement.

In June 2024, a team of around 100 volunteers and researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham spent a week excavating and documenting the site. Their findings have been linked to a previously discovered trackway in the same quarry, uncovered in 1997, though that section is no longer accessible.

In the latest find, the longest trackway stretched over 150 metres. While some of the tracks were left by massive sauropods, others belonged to the carnivorous Megalosaurus. Megalosaurus, originally named in 1824, was the world’s first scientifically described dinosaur.

“The general rule of locomotion is that the faster the animal is moving, the farther apart the footprints will be,” Lawrence Tanner, a paleontologist who was not involved in the excavation, told CNN, likening the movement of the sauropods to modern elephants.

It remains unclear exactly where the dinosaurs were headed, but Tanner believes they may have been navigating along a shoreline or seeking food.

The exceptional preservation of the tracks is attributed to the unique conditions of the time. The site’s soft sediment, combined with just the right amount of moisture, created an ideal environment to capture the impressions, according to the CNN report.

“The preservation is so detailed that we can see how the mud was deformed as the dinosaur’s feet squelched in and out,” Dr Duncan Murdock, an earth scientist, was quoted as saying by the University of Birmingham.

Using aerial drone photography, researchers captured over 20,000 images of the site, which will be used to create detailed 3D models of the footprints.

Given the limited time researchers had to document the site before quarry operations recommenced, much of the surface remains unexplored. Dr Edgar expressed optimism that further excavations could reveal even more tracks and insights into dinosaur life. “We’ll be continuously evaluating and working with the quarry workers as new areas are exposed,” she told CNN.

A casual summer beach walk turned into a prehistoric adventure for a 10-year-old girl in the UK when she stumbled upon enormous footprints. While strolling along the shore with her mother in Penarth, Tegan stumbled upon five massive footprints, which dinosaur experts believe belong to a Camelot that roamed the area over 200 million years ago, BBC reported. 

The enormous prints, spaced up to 75cm apart, are thought to have been made by a large herbivore from the late Triassic period. Palaeontologists are now working to verify the discovery, with the National Museum Wales’ palaeontology curator expressing confidence that the prints are genuine, leaving Tegan and her mother thrilled to have walked in the footsteps of dinosaurs.

“We’ve got five footprints and we’re talking about half-to-three-quarters of a metre between each one. These footprints are so big, it would have to be a type of dinosaur called a sauropodomorpha,” Cindy Howells told the BBC’s The Dinohunters programme.

The incredible discovery was made on the South Wales coast, where the girl’s mother Claire used to live. 

“It was so cool and exciting. We were just out looking to see what we could find, we didn’t think we’d find anything. We found these were big holes that looked like dinosaur footprints, so mum took some pictures, emailed the museum and it was from a long-necked dinosaur,” said Tegan.

Following the remarkable discovery, Claire reached out to Cindy via email just a few days later. The dinosaur footprints had been found embedded in red siltstone at Lavernock Point, a location situated between Cardiff and Barry along the Glamorgan Heritage Coast.

Cindy, a seasoned dinosaur expert with 40 years of experience in the region, was convinced of the authenticity of the footprints due to the consistent stride pattern. “What’s telling is the alternating left and right feet, with a consistent distance between them. If they were just random holes, we’d be sceptical, but this pattern suggests a deliberate gait. It’s a significant discovery, and the excitement is palpable when someone contacts us with a confirmed dinosaur find – it’s truly thrilling”, she explained. 

“It’s hard to comprehend you’re walking on the same beach that hundreds of millions of years ago some massive prehistoric animal was here. You can spend a lifetime looking for dinosaur treasures so for it to happen for Tegan at this age is great,” she added.