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Wareham, Dorset, United Kingdom
Dinosaurs in Dorset
Dorset is famous for its rocks dating from the time of the dinosaurs, between 231 million and 65 million years ago (the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods). The rocks are exposed on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site of Dorset and East Devon, and also in quarries. Fossilised remains of many species of dinosaurs have been found in these rocks.
In the museum two dinosaurs feature in our geology section. We have a fossilised footprint of an Iguanodon, a vegetarian dinosaur which lived around 125 million years ago, in the Cretaceous period. The footprint was made in soft mud in shallow water and quickly filled with sediment. The cast of the footprint was found in a limestone quarry at Acton, south of Wareham.
The other dinosaur is a model of a Juratyrant, an ancestor of Tyrannosaurus Rex. The fossilised bones of this ostrich-sized partly feathered carnivore were found in coastal rocks near Kimmeridge, south of Wareham. The remains are the only known find of this species, which lived about 150 million years ago. The model (see left) was made by Dougal Dixon, a Wareham-based dinosaur specialist.
A large graphic of the lower body and legs of an Iguanodon is part of the display of the fossilised Iguanodon footprint in the geology section. Dougal Dixon made a 3D head to go with the graphic. This was installed in 2016 (see him with it below).
Click to enlarge
Also please see our Geology page by clicking HERE !