Palaeontologists who discovered a rare Iguanodon dinosaur skeleton, believed to be 132 million years old, are offering fellow enthusiasts the chance to help them excavate it.
The creature, nicknamed Indie, is thought to be an Iguanodon – a herbivore which could grow to the size of an African elephant and run at 14mph (23kmh).
It took them four weeks to excavate seven blocks full of bones from the Wienerberger brick factory in Ewhurst, Surrey, and transport them back to their lab for analysing.
Researchers are now seeking volunteers to help them uncover the secrets of this large herbivore.
Palaeontologists who discovered a rare Iguanodon dinosaur skeleton, believed to be 132 million years old, are offering fellow enthusiasts the chance to help them excavate it. Pictured is a block containing the ribs of the Iguanodon dinosau
The Iguanodon was an herbivore that walked the Earth 132 million years ago, during the Lower Cretaceous period.
It would have been 10 feet (three metres) tall, 30 feet (10 metres) long and weighed 4.5 tons.
Jamie Jordan and Sarah Moore from Fossils Galore museum and educational centre in March, Cambridgeshire, uncovered the skeleton in a Surrey quarry last February.
A year after their initial find, Mr Jordan, a self-taught dinosaur expert, says his team – which is made up entirely of volunteers – has removed less than five per cent of the bones from the blocks.
He believes the task will take another five years to complete.
He is now appealing for more people to come and help with the painstaking task at the purpose-built observation booth at the museum, which enables visitors to watch the excavators at work through a glass panel.
The creature (artist’s impression), nicknamed Indie, is thought to be an Iguanodon – a herbivore which could grow to the size of an African elephant and could run at 14mph (23kmh)
It took them four weeks to excavate seven blocks full of bones from the Wienerberger brick factory in Ewhurst, Surrey, and transport them back to their lab for analysing. Pictured is a partially excavated tail vertebrae
Researchers (pictured) are now seeking volunteers to help them uncover the secrets of this large herbivore. The Iguanodon was an herbivore that walked the earth 132 million years ago, during the Lower Cretaceous period