Parking Lot Dig Uncovers First Fossils in 100 Years

Sometimes the best discoveries happen when you're just trying to pave a parking lot.

Workers breaking ground near Dinosaur National Monument's Quarry Exhibit Hall last September hit something unexpected: actual dinosaur bones. Construction immediately stopped, and paleontologists rushed in to examine what would become the first fossil excavation at that spot in over a century.

The National Park Service announced the discovery on January 16, revealing that the fossils likely belong to Diplodocus, one of the most iconic long-necked dinosaurs. These gentle giants stretched about 80 feet from nose to tail and traveled together in small herds across what is now Colorado.

Park staff, volunteers, a Utah Conservation Corps crew, and even the construction workers themselves joined forces to carefully excavate the site. Between mid-September and mid-October, they removed roughly 3,000 pounds of fossils and surrounding rock.

The timing couldn't be more serendipitous. The parking lot construction included accessibility improvements to help more visitors reach the famous "Wall of Bones," where about 1,500 dinosaur fossils remain embedded in rock for public viewing.

Why This Inspires

This discovery reminds us that incredible treasures still hide beneath our feet, waiting for the right moment to emerge. The spot where these fossils appeared hadn't been excavated since 1924, when teams from Carnegie Museum, the Smithsonian, and the University of Utah conducted their final digs.

Three of the most complete Diplodocus skeletons ever found came from this exact location at Dinosaur National Monument. Now, a century later, more pieces of the puzzle have surfaced.

The fossils are currently being cleaned and studied at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum. Some pieces are already on display at the Quarry Exhibit Hall, giving visitors a glimpse of what paleontologists are uncovering.

The construction project finished on time, and the improved parking lot now welcomes visitors to one of the park's most popular attractions. Inside the exhibit hall, people can see remains from the Late Jurassic period, including Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Stegosaurus, and of course, Diplodocus.

What started as routine construction became a window into a world 150 million years old, proving that sometimes the best adventures happen right under our noses.