Illustration of dinosaurs walking a dirt highway

Illustration by Luke Newell

Article Options

Presentation View
Teaching Resources

Language

Dino Highway

March 31, 2025
By Alicia Green

In 2023, Gary Johnson was working in a quarry in Oxfordshire, England. While digging up clay, he felt unusual bumps in the ground. Researchers took a closer look and made a remarkable discovery. In January, they announced that the bumps were part of a “dinosaur highway” with about 200 dino footprints. 

Experts say the tracks were created 166 million years ago. They are spread across five different trails. Four of the trails were likely made by huge plant-eating dinos called Cetiosaurus (see-tee-oh-SOR-uhs). Some of their footprints are a whopping 35 inches long. A foot that big would need a men’s size 83 shoe! The tracks in the fifth trail are about 10 inches shorter. Scientists say they belong to Megalosaurus (meh-guh-loh-SOR-uhs). Those were ferocious meat-eating dinosaurs known for their clawed, three-toed feet.

Courtesy of Emma Nicholls (tracks); Dr. Luke Meade/University of Birmingham (footprint)

A team works to uncover dinosaur tracks in Oxfordshire, England.

More to Find

Researchers used drones to take more than 20,000 photos of the footprints during a week-long dig. They created 3-D models of the site. This information will help scientists study the area for years to come.

Kirsty Edgar is one of the scientists involved in the discovery. She says the tracks could shed light on how these dinosaurs interacted, as well as their speed and size.

“These footprints offer an extraordinary window into the lives of dinosaurs,” Edgar said in a statement.

Games (1)
Text-to-Speech