A routine parking lot improvement project at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah has led to an unexpected scientific discovery, with construction crews uncovering dinosaur fossils at the site for the first time in more than 100 years.
The find occurred in mid-September near the Quarry Exhibit Hall after workers removed layers of asphalt, exposing fossil-rich sandstone beneath the surface, according to the National Park Service. Park staff confirmed the discovery on Sept. 16 and immediately paused construction to allow paleontologists to evaluate and excavate the remains.
Preliminary assessments indicate the fossils likely belong to a Diplodocus, a massive, long-necked dinosaur species commonly found within the monument’s historic bonebed. The area is internationally known for its dense concentration of dinosaur remains and has played a key role in paleontological research since the early 20th century.
Excavation efforts brought together National Park Service staff, a Utah Conservation Corps crew, volunteers and construction workers. Between mid-September and mid-October, teams removed approximately 3,000 pounds of fossil material and surrounding rock from a trench dug directly within the parking lot footprint.
The recovered material has since been transported to the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in Vernal, where technicians are cleaning and studying the fossils. Visitors to the museum can observe the preparation process in real time through the facility’s fossil laboratory.
The site had not seen active fossil excavation since 1924, when large-scale digs led by institutions such as the Carnegie Museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the University of Utah concluded. Dinosaur National Monument itself was established in 1915, preserving one of the world’s most significant dinosaur fossil deposits.
Some of the newly uncovered fossils are already on display at the Quarry Exhibit Hall—often referred to as the “Wall of Bones”—and at the Utah Field House museum. The exhibit hall, the park’s most visited attraction, sits above the original Carnegie quarry and features roughly 1,500 dinosaur fossils still embedded in rock, visible to the public.
Following the excavation, construction crews completed the parking lot and roadway upgrades, which included new concrete and asphalt surfaces as well as accessibility improvements around the exhibit hall. Park officials said the project balanced infrastructure needs with the protection of valuable scientific resources.
The discovery underscores how Dinosaur National Monument continues to yield important finds more than a century after its establishment, even during routine maintenance and infrastructure projects.
Originally reported by Stephen Sorace, Fox News in New York Post.
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