Construction crew unearths Triceratops fossil during dig

A construction crew digging a plot of land for constructing a new fire and police station in Thornton, Colorado, came across a rare find: a fossilised skeleton of a Triceratops.

The crew immediately made contact with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, who sent some of their experts to analyse the find.

Joe Sertich, the curator of dinosaurs at the museum has confirmed that the bones are, in fact, that of a Triceratops.

According to a report by The National Geographic, most fossils found in the region come from the Ice Age, putting them at some 10-12,000 years old. However, this fossil has been dated to the Cretaceous period, putting it at roughly 66 million years old, becoming the oldest fossil ever unearthed from the region.

In a city press release, Sertich said that in most cases, if any such bones are unearthed, they are simply ploughed away and that they are really lucky that this find was quickly recognised as a fossil. The city has temporarily closed access to the site to all but Museum personnel for digging the site to check if there are any other such treasures buried beneath near the old rocks.