photo courtesy of the CIty of Thorton, Colorado
Construction crews all over the world unearth some pretty cool or very weird items, but sometimes crews find some extremely significant historical artifacts, as well. Last week, a contractor in Colorado made an extremely rare discovery that has many scientists very excited.
A new Fire and Police Substation had just broken ground in Thorton, Colorado, when a skid steer operator encountered an ‘immovable’ object. Work stopped shortly thereafter after another worker on site suspected it might have been a fossil. Turns out, they were right, as scientists believe that the fossil is a 66 million year old Triceratops.
Editor’s note: After further tests, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science has determined the bones belong to a cousin of the triceratops called a Torosaurus.
DMNS & volunteers have unearthed a bit more of the Triceratops! A rib and forehead...each day brings an fun discovery! pic.twitter.com/nbcfe4Lcwe
— City of Thornton (@CityofThornton) August 31, 2017
Dinosaur bones are unusual for the Denver area, especially that old, as most fossils found are from the Ice Age, which was between 10,000-12,000 years ago.
So far, the skull, a second horn, and parts of the ribs and vertebrae have been carefully uncovered by scientists and volunteers from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Construction work has stopped in the area around the fossil, but construction workers are still permitted on site.
More information can be found in the 2 news videos from CBS Denver below:
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