Girl, 4, Who Discovered 220,000,000-Year-Old Fossil Gets Museum Display Named After Her

Jul 28, 2021 by apost team

A mysterious footprint from an unknown dinosaur was found fossilized in a rock by a young girl, and now she is being honored in a big way. Lily Wilder, 4, found the 220 million-year-old fossilized print in a rock while walking along the Welsh coast with her family in January 2021. Lily and her mother Sally, 38, and Richard, 47, from nearby Llandough, were having a fun day at Bendricks Bay near Barry when Lily spotted the pristine fossil.

Lily was playing at the beach when she suddenly called out to her family to come to look at what she found. When her mother saw the print, she initially thought it was painted by an artist because of how perfect it looked. However, because they know that Bendricks Bay is a hotspot for fossils, they reported the footprint to local officials.

Archaeologists have said that because of the high-quality condition of the fossil, it is of international importance, and it is the most impressive dinosaur footprint found in the U.K. in the last two decades. The National Museum Cardiff will honor Lily’s finding with an exhibition titled “Lily’s Fossil Footprint,” which will display the item and tell Lily’s amazing story. 

The print is 10cm and made by a “currently unknown herbivorous dinosaur” that stood about 75cm tall and 2.5m long. It is thought that the dinosaur would have been slender, walked on two hind feet, and hunted small animals and insects. Archaeologists are both intrigued and confused by the mysterious footprint and eager to research which dinosaur it could belong to. Read on to find out more about Lily’s finding and what expert officials have to say about it.

The entire Wilder family couldn’t be more proud of Lily and pleased that her finding will be put on display. According to Metro, Lily’s mother, Sally, said: “We were thrilled to find out it really was a dinosaur footprint, and I am happy that it will be taken to the National Museum where it can be enjoyed and studied for generations.”

Experts agree that the pristine nature of the footprint and the fact it comes from an unknown species makes it very special. Karl-James Langford from Archaeology Cymru said, “As only the fifth person to see it live, I identified the dinosaur footprint, as of international importance, and the best to be discovered in the United Kingdom for 20 years or more. This was very real. It was a much finer print than any I had ever seen, in all my years looking at the rocks on the beach with school parties and adults.” 

Cindy Howells, the National Museum Cardiff’s Palaeontology Curator, added: “This fossilised dinosaur footprint from 220 million years ago is one of the best-preserved examples of its type from anywhere in the U.K. and will really aid palaeontologists in getting a better idea about these early dinosaurs and how they walked.”

This finding gives great insight into what creatures roamed the area millions of years ago. Dr. Kath Davies, the museum’s Director of Collections and Research, shared: “We look forward to seeing visitors of all ages enjoy this exciting discovery and be inspired by Lily’s story. Our dinosaur fossils and the dinosaurs in the Evolution of Wales gallery always prove popular with visitors and I hope people take this opportunity to find out more about dinosaurs and how life evolved in Wales.”

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Are you impressed by this young girl’s ability to spot a dinosaur fossil? What would you have done if you found the footprint? Let us know, and feel free to pass this along to your friends and family.