SO, WHAT if it was not a trip to Jurassic Park? Lucknow University's Geology Department still managed to recover fossilised pieces of dinosaur eggshell during an educational tour. The place was Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh recently and the site, one km west of Gadwal village, near the bank of Hathni river.
The team located about six to seven spots in the vicinity. It seemed the place had been a big hatchery for dinosaurs, as over 10 egg nests were found within a one square kilometre area.
In view of the area's importance, the team urged the local administration to protect this area, which they said was one of the richest geologically.
Head of the Geology Department MP Singh said: “The fossilised pieces, which we've brought from Dhar, are embedded on rough stone. The shell pieces are quite noticeable. Last week, we showed it to an expert, Ashok Sahani, and he was quite excited about it. His observation was that it was one of the rarest collections and called for thorough research.”
“The fossilised eggshell is likely to be around 75 million years old,” said Professor NL Chabra of the department, who was on the tour.
{{/usCountry}}“The fossilised eggshell is likely to be around 75 million years old,” said Professor NL Chabra of the department, who was on the tour.
{{/usCountry}}The faculty members met the DM, the SP and the collector of the area and apprised them of the significance of the place.
Singh said they had identified a similar place in Gujarat the last time. It was on their request that the State Government had declared the place in Kheda district, where a large number of fossilised dinosaur bones were found, as a protected area.
“We're optimistic that the MP Government will take similar steps. Such geo-sites need to be protected for geo-tourism,” he said.