Thousands of dinosaur footprints have been discovered on a sheer cliff face near the 2026 Olympic Games site.

Thousands of dinosaur footprints, over 200 million years old, have been unearthed on a sheer cliff face in northern Italy, near the site of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Some footprints are so well preserved that even the claws are visible - Photo: Piero Cruciatti/AFP

Recently, Italian paleontologists discovered thousands of dinosaur footprints on a nearly vertical cliff in a mountainous area near the town of Bormio, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, one of the venues for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

According to experts, this is one of the world's richest sites in terms of Triassic fossil data.

Specifically, the dinosaur footprints, some up to 40cm wide and clearly showing claw marks, stretch for about 5km in the Valle di Fraele glacial valley – a mountainous area near the town of Bormio.

Paleontologists believe these footprints belong to a herd of long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs, most likely Plateosaurus, that lived on Earth more than 200 million years ago. At that time, this fossil site was a warm lagoon, an ideal environment for dinosaurs to move along the coast, leaving footprints in the soft mud near the water's surface.

According to biological trace researcher Fabio Massimo Petti from the MUSE Museum in Trento, the footprints were formed when the sediment was still soft on the vast intertidal zones surrounding the Tethys Ocean.

The mud then gradually hardened, and thanks to that, the dinosaur footprints, from toe marks to claw imprints, have been preserved from the effects of time.

Speaking to the press on December 16, paleontologist Cristiano Dal Sasso of the Milan Natural History Museum emphasized that the site is one of the largest and oldest dinosaur footprints ever discovered in Italy.

He also said this was the most spectacular discovery he had ever witnessed in his 35 years in the profession.

According to scientists , as the African tectonic plate gradually shifted northward, causing the Tethys Ocean to dry up, layers of sedimentary rock contributed to the formation of the Alps as we know them today. As a result, fossilized dinosaur footprints, which were originally oriented horizontally, are now found on nearly vertical mountain slopes.

Because the area where the dinosaur footprints were discovered is inaccessible by conventional trails, scientists say they will use drones and remote sensing technology to continue studying this unique site.

Giovanni Malagò, President of the Organizing Committee for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, stated that the natural sciences have bestowed upon the 2026 Winter Games an unexpected and invaluable gift, originating from the Earth's earliest eras.

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VNA

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/phat-hien-hang-nghin-dau-chan-khung-long-tren-vach-nui-dung-dung-gan-noi-to-chuc-olympic-2026-20251217134347375.htm