Imagine walking in the footsteps of giants—literally. A staggering 166-million-year-old sauropod trackway, the longest of its kind in Europe, has been unearthed in the UK, and it’s rewriting what we know about these ancient behemoths. But here’s where it gets even more fascinating: this isn’t just any dinosaur trail—it’s a 220-meter-long (722 feet) journey left by a single sauropod, stretching across what’s now Dewars Farm near Bicester, Oxfordshire. This site, dubbed the “dinosaur highway,” has been a treasure trove for paleontologists, boasting hundreds of footprints from the Middle Jurassic Period—a time when the first-ever named dinosaur, Megalosaurus, roamed the Earth. And this is the part most people miss: the discovery was sparked by a quarry worker noticing “unusual bumps” beneath the clay surface, leading to one of the most significant collections of dinosaur footprints in the world.
The excavation, featured on BBC Two’s Digging For Britain, was no small feat. Over 100 scientists and volunteers, led by teams from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH) and the University of Birmingham, battled scorching heat that turned the ground nearly as hard as concrete. Despite these challenges, they uncovered hundreds of new footprints, including a series of massive prints—each about 1 meter (3.2 feet) long—that formed the longest known sauropod trackway in Europe. But here’s the controversial part: could these footprints suggest sauropods traveled in herds? Dr. Duncan Murdock, an Earth Scientist at OUMNH, believes so, stating, “We now have evidence of tens of individuals moving through this area at around the same time, perhaps as a herd.”
Beyond the footprints, the site revealed fossils of marine invertebrates, plants, and even a crocodile jaw, painting a vivid picture of Oxfordshire’s ancient ecosystem. While the 2025 dig faced weather-related setbacks, it’s clear this is just the beginning. What other secrets lie buried beneath this Jurassic highway? And more importantly, what does this tell us about how these colossal creatures lived and moved? Let’s keep digging—both literally and figuratively—and join the conversation: Do you think sauropods traveled in herds, or is this interpretation a stretch? Share your thoughts below!
