DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS DESIGNATED AS MONUMENT

[Anchor Lead]

A cluster of dinosaur footprints in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, will be designated as a natural monument. Discovered in the process of building an industrial complex, the fossilized tracks include a wide variety of rare footprints of dinosaurs and pterodactyls. Let’s take a look.

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A hill sits in the center of a vast site where a project to develop an industrial park is under way. This hill is covered with traces of various vertebrates from the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic Era, 112 million years ago. There are more than 10,000 footprints. Among them, these tracks measure two to three centimeters, which are presumed to be left by Minisauripus regarded as the smallest carnivorous dinosaur ever discovered. The rare fossils indicate that the region was traveled by hundreds of carnivorous dinosaurs.

[Soundbite] Kim Kyung-soo(Chinju National Univ. of Education) : "It is the world’s first case that over 7,980 dinosaur footprints were discovered in such a narrow site. It is highly concentrated with fossilized dinosaur tracks."

The Cultural Heritage Administration issued an advanced notice that it will designate the cluster as a natural monument, as it is rare to discover various fossilized dinosaur tracks in one site and they are a representative historical heritage of the nation. Jinju City is seeking ways to preserve the fossils and use them for the purpose of education and tourism. As part of its efforts, it will build a park that is more than ten times larger than the original site and complete the construction of related facilities by 2023.

[Soundbite] Won Sang-ho(Jinju City Gov’t) : "We are planning to develop related contents and hold competitions to select ideas. We will also ask for subsidies from the central government."

Once the designation is made next month, the city government will also apply for government subsidies granted to protect and maintain a national cultural heritage.