Elio Della Ferrera, Arch. PaleoStelvioThousands of dinosaur footprints dating back 210 million years have been found in a national park in northern Italy.
The footprints – some of which are up to 40cm (15in) in diameter – are aligned in parallel rows, and many show clear traces of toes and claws.
It is thought the dinosaurs were prosauropods – herbivores with long necks, small heads and sharp claws.
“I never would have imagined I’d come across such a spectacular discovery in the region where I live,” said Milan-based paleontologist Cristiano Dal Sasso.
Illustrazione di Fabio Manucci, Arch. PaleoStelvioLast September a photographer spotted the footprints stretching hundreds of metres on a vertical mountain wall in the Stelvio national park, north-east of Milan.
In the Triassic period – between about 250 and 201 million years ago – the wall was a tidal flat, which later became part of the Alpine chain.
“This place was full of dinosaurs; it’s an immense scientific treasure,” Mr Dal Sasso said.
The herds moved in harmony, he added, “and there are also traces of more complex behaviours, like groups of animals gathering in a circle, perhaps for the purposes of defence.”
The prosauropods, which could be up to 10m (33ft) long, walked on two legs but in some cases handprints were found in front of footprints, indicating that they probably stopped and rested their forelimbs on the ground.
Elio Della Ferrera, Arch. PaleoStelvioElio Della Ferrera, the photographer who discovered the site, said he hoped the discovery would “spark reflection in all of us, highlighting how little we know about the places we live in: our home, our planet.”
According to a press release from the Italian culture ministry, the area is remote and not accessible by paths, so drones and remote sensing technology will be employed instead.
The Stelvio national park is located in the Fraele valley by Italy’s border with Switzerland, near where the Winter Olympics will take place next year.
“It’s as if history itself wanted to pay homage to the greatest global sporting event, combining past and present in a symbolic passing of the baton between nature and sport,” said the Italian Ministry of Culture.
