A quarry worker in southern England unearthed a remarkable discovery: nearly 200 dinosaur footprints, forming a “dinosaur highway,” dating back 166 million years. This exceptional find, resulting from a June excavation at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire by a team exceeding 100 individuals, builds upon prior discoveries in the region and offers invaluable insights into the Middle Jurassic period, according to researchers from Oxford and Birmingham Universities.

These footprints, as described by Birmingham University micropaleontology professor Kirsty Edgar, provide a unique glimpse into the lives of these creatures, revealing details about their locomotion, interactions, and the tropical environment they inhabited.

Four sets of tracks indicate the passage of gigantic sauropods, likely Cetiosaurus—dinosaurs reaching nearly 60 feet in length. Another set belongs to Megalosaurus, a fearsome 30-foot predator, its characteristic three-toed prints representing the first scientifically named dinosaur. An area where tracks intersect suggests potential interactions between carnivores and herbivores.

According to Oxford University Museum of Natural History vertebrate paleontologist Emma Nicholls, the discovery underscores the ongoing potential for new findings related to Megalosaurus, a dinosaur extensively studied for over two centuries.

While a previous discovery of 40 footprints in the area, nearly 30 years ago, was considered scientifically significant, its inaccessibility and limited photographic documentation (predating digital technology and drones) hampered further research. This latest excavation involved over 20,000 digital images and drone-generated 3-D models, significantly enhancing future study potential.

The exceptional preservation, as noted by Oxford museum earth scientist Duncan Murdock, allows researchers to analyze even minute details, such as mud deformation caused by dinosaur footprints. Combined with other fossils (burrows, shells, plants), this data vividly reconstructs the muddy lagoon environment these dinosaurs inhabited.

These findings will be featured in a new museum exhibit and on the BBC’s “Digging for Britain” program next week.