Lom u Devíti Křížů, Sandstone quarry in Havlovice, Czech Republic
Lom u Devíti Křížů is a sandstone quarry near Havlovice with walls composed of kaolinitic-quartz sandstone from the Middle Triassic period. The extraction site displays multiple rock layers that reveal the geological history of the region.
The quarry's sandstone belongs to the Bohdašín Formation, probably Late Triassic (Norian, about 220 to 201 million years old). In the mid-1990s a worker found a three-toed theropod footprint, 18 cm wide and 14 cm long, described by J. Zajíc in 1998. On 31 March 2011 geologist Radek Mikuláš announced a second footprint, attributed to Anomoepus.
Scientists discovered the first dinosaur footprints in Czech territory at this location, including an 18-centimeter-wide three-toed print from a predatory dinosaur.
The quarry lies in the cadastral area of Havlovice, in the Trutnov district, close to Červený Kostelec. It is a commercially used sandstone quarry, so access depends on current working conditions; check with the operator before setting out and wear sturdy footwear for uneven ground.
The second footprint from the quarry, announced on 31 March 2011, was found on a sandstone slab by geologist Radek Mikuláš and is now kept in Prague's Botanical Garden. It was tentatively assigned to the ichnogenus Anomoepus and probably belonged to a small ornithischian dinosaur.
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