Two brothers from a rural village in southwestern China received an unexpected scientific surprise after learning that the stones they had used as stepping blocks for more than twenty years were actually dinosaur footprint fossils dating back almost two hundred million years.
The discovery came to light following a recent study conducted on November 29 in Wuli village, located in Sichuan province. Researchers revealed that the slabs, once treated as ordinary household stones, are now confirmed to contain Early Jurassic dinosaur tracks. The unusual stones were first reported by South China Morning Post, highlighting a remarkable piece of natural history hidden in plain sight.
The Ding brothers originally found the stones in 1998 while extracting material from a stone quarry. They noticed unusual markings described as “chicken claw prints,” but saw no particular importance in them. The stones were later placed around their home for daily use. Their village sits in Zigong city, an area widely known as the “home of Chinese dinosaurs.” The broader region gained international recognition in the 1970s and 1980s after discoveries at the Dashanpu Middle Jurassic Dinosaur Fossil Site, which revealed hundreds of fossils including rare pterosaurs and patches of preserved dinosaur skin. A dedicated dinosaur museum was later built at the location to protect and showcase the findings.
Interest in the stones resurfaced in 2017 when the daughter of one of the brothers uploaded images of the slabs online. The photographs showed claw impressions, circular shapes and clear track patterns. The pictures quickly drew attention from experts at the Zigong Dinosaur Museum, who contacted the family. Following permission from the Ding family, the fossils were transferred to the museum for scientific examination and preservation.
A new research paper published in the Journal of Palaeogeography provides detailed findings from the site. Scientists documented eight stone slabs containing a total of four hundred and thirteen footprints believed to be from the Early Jurassic period, approximately one hundred and eighty million to one hundred and ninety million years ago. Most of the fossilised tracks have been attributed to theropod dinosaurs such as Grallators and Eubrontes. Researchers describe these dinosaurs as having a ground running pattern similar to modern birds and estimate they moved at speeds between five point eight and eight point six kilometres per hour.
Scientists also discovered rare tail drag marks on several slabs, giving fresh insight into ancient behaviour. Associate professor Xing Lida from the China University of Geosciences in Beijing said that these traces may have appeared when dinosaurs slowed down, looked around their environment or displayed warning behaviour.
The unexpected find has turned a quiet village corner into an important location for prehistoric research. What began as ordinary stepping stones has now become evidence of ancient life, linking local residents to a distant chapter of Earth’s history and contributing valuable information for future scientific study.