This past weekend outside of a restaurant in China, a team of paleontologists led by Lida Xing confirmed the footprints of two sauropods dinosaurs. Sauropods were omnivorous creatures well-known for their long necks and tails, and fossil specimens have been found on every continent. The two sauropods who left the footprints “probably measured about 8 meters (26 feet) in body length,” Xing told CNN. Xing’s team confirmed the discovery on using a 3D scanner.

How it started:

CNN.com

Before it was a restaurant, the location in Leshan, Sichuan province was a chicken farm, with dinosaur footprints buried by layers of dirt and sand — shielding them from erosion and weather damage.

What we now know:

The dirt was removed about a year ago when the restaurant opened. Ironically, the owner liked the natural look of the uneven stones and left them untouched. Xing shares, “it’s rare to find fossils in the city because they were all covered by buildings.” However, these footprints recently discovered were fortunately well protected. The restaurant owner has since fenced off the footprints and is considering building a shea to further protect the footprints.