Overview
- Workers removing asphalt on Sept. 16 near the Quarry Exhibit Hall exposed dinosaur‑bearing sandstone, prompting an immediate pause in construction.
- Park paleontologists, construction crews, volunteers and the Utah Conservation Corps excavated the site from mid‑September to mid‑October.
- The recovered bones appear to be from a large long‑necked dinosaur most like Diplodocus, a species well represented in the monument’s bonebed.
- The fossils were transferred to the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum for cleaning and research, with some pieces now on display at the museum and at the Quarry Exhibit Hall.
- The parking lot project was completed after the removal, reflecting a broader pattern of construction‑era finds and recent research into late dinosaur ecosystems.