A Fossil Excavation Goes Wrong in the Worst Possible Way

An excavation of a rare dinosaur fossil goes horribly wrong. It’s left to paleo technicians to try and salvage what they can.
From the Show: Dinosaur Cold Case

[@chillindude5471]

imagine the feeling in your stomach as you watch the 100mil year old fossil crumble

[@MITSUBISHIVII]

Chillin Dude nothing lasts forever

[@TeaBurn]

You get the world's hardest game of a 3d jigsaw puzzle.

[@17hmr243]

i just did, dont need to imagine

[@Oneshot8242]

@@MITSUBISHIVII 'cept old Fords and natural stone.

[@TheAsthmatic91]

Did they carbon date it? Or was it that old cause it was in that layer? Or is that layer that old cause the fossil is somehow known to be that old?

[@SloppyballsMcGuillicutty]

archeologist : “I have 2 PHD’s , I think I know how to move a rock.” heavy machine operator : “uh-huh.”

[@jennjt2525]

How do you expect them to move it

[@Kylel0519]

Justin the animal lover jeune by using pallets to properly distribute the weight

[@9f81rsd00]

Physics: im about to end both of this man’s phd’s.

[@joshua41175]

Might want to edit to Paleontologist, you're ignance is showing.

[@dorazlatar2553]

palaeontologist in fact, but yes, agree :')

[@JohnJ469]

Can we take a minute to admire the skill of the guy with the drill? A fossil is essentially the animal turned to stone and these guys can tell the difference between fossil stone and ordinary rocks. That's pretty impressive to me.

[@ashawyn]

Not to depreciate his work but I mean... Even the excavation crew could recognize that it wasn't just any typical rock. Takes endless amounts of patience and precision to do something like that though, which is impressive to me.

[@GMoney-B]

@@ashawyn well I’m sure it’s easy to spot when it was in the rock and a lot larger, but when it’s in tiny pieces and up close is where the actual skill and expertise comes in I’m sure.

[@louvretreekay12_]

ye so accurate he added a tail and a shoulder that weren’t supposed to be there! 😂

[@bestieswithtesties]

Are we sure that guy isn't just an artist who carved out whatever he felt like into the rock and now everyone just took his word for it and is like "Look a new dinosaur!" .... hmmm....

[@TheNtcc]

@@bestieswithtesties lol yeah, he could have carved a small Godzilla out of that rock.

[@AndreaRoll]

So they had there scientists engineers and technicians and nobody Realized you needed two beams in the other directions to lift that up? They literally did what you do when you want to break an egg, and the result was just that. Unbelievable

[@michaelbronson7410]

Yup, and let's hope they've learned from this mistake so something like this never happens again!

[@bingo7799]

And the yolk was on them.

[@abstract5249]

Your everyday run of the mill scientist isn't as smart as you think. Most scientists aren't Einstein or Tesla. They're just normal people who got a paper saying their smart. They blindly follow whatever "scientific consensus" gets peer reviewed to conform with their postmodern neo marxist colleagues (climate change, vaccines, etc).

[@AndreaRoll]

@@abstract5249 perfectly spoken like someone who has never even attempted to even get a degree

[@abstract5249]

​@@AndreaRoll A degree means nothing without common sense and actual logic to make use of it. Just because scientists know how to pass a test doesn't mean they're smart. Look up Dr. Jordan Peterson, a clinical psychologist and academic who regularly exposes leftist bias in modern academia. Look up Bret Weinstein, Sam Harris, Steven Pinker, actual academics who have said similar things about their field.

[@richardthomas1566]

Biggest “ I told ya so “ ever . You know their was a guy that said “ don’t you think we need a Pallet “

[@CharlieRootsMusic]

Definitely would have undermined it little by little and added support fully underneath as I went.

[@scottyj6226]

Just weave a steel basket under and around those in the future

[@MrFantocan]

He could have repeated that for painfull 6 years until it was rebuild...

[@PlayMoGame]

*there

[@hydrocarbon8272]

@@MrFantocan It actually took 3 years, but they forgot the 1st time and re-lifted it via 2 boards...so here it is the 2nd rebuild. (j/k)

[@mkfpv130]

Imagine how many fossils they've dug up with out even knowing it....

[@Gutslinger]

@Saber Fox Mostly tree bark.

[@mr.stealyourgrill1190]

It hurts my heart just thinking about it

[@hugoshobbies1688]

What bugs me more is to think of all the fossils that are destroyed knowingly just because of short-term-profit. Don't forget that this one (like many others) was found in a mine. This mine is there to make profit and having to put the work down for several hours or maybe even several days lets the owner loose money. I'm pretty sure more often than not the workers are being told not to have seen anything and just keep working for the sake of some money. Unless the scientists pay them more than enough to compensate for the potential losses. And we all know that scientists are really rich people right...? It's the same with caves. Most caves generate in limestone. As it happens limestone is an important resource for making concrete and other stuff. As a cave explorer I know that many and more caves were completely destroyed and are still being destroyed worldwide in limestone mines. I have actually been in some partially destroyed caves in old mines. Like fossils these caves are millions of years old. Many of them keeping natural treasures that are potentially unique. But hey, we have to make some profit, don't we? What could be more important?

[@hereizzalex]

Coal mine has the most fossilized creatures, from foot prints to carcass.

[@slykhajiit2]

@@mr.stealyourgrill1190 How sad. I know, right? How dare them burn such precious coal meant to be kept in museums to be adored and marveled upon! "Look, son! It's cOaL"

[@PhoenixRiseinFlame]

For anyone who’s interested, this fossil is in the Royal Tyrell Myseum near Drumheller, Alberta, Canada. I lived 45 minutes from the museum and I can tell you it’s an exceptional museum (possibly the best palaeontology museum in the world). The video of the fossil mentioned in this video doesn’t do it justice. Seeing the fossil in person is breathtaking. You can see exactly what the dinosaur would have looked like while alive. If you’re ever in Alberta, the museum is a must see experience. Also Drumheller has some exceptional sights to see including the worlds largest T-Rex (a massive stature you can enter near their ice rink), the hoodoos (prehistoric rock formations), and buffalo jumps (places used by the natives to run bison off cliffs; usually there are a lot of shallow caves to explore).

[@calessel3139]

I visited in 2006 from the US and agree the museum is fantastic. I would love to visit it again to see this fantastic fossil specimen. PS - the T-Rex is pretty cool too.

[@paddlefar9175]

They even took samples from it’s stomach area using a special microscope that has special software that takes a series of pictures and put the sequences together to get an almost 3D view of the stomach matter and hence they could get an idea of what it was eating: Ferns and pollen granules were some of the plant material seen.

[@PhoenixRiseinFlame]

@@paddlefar9175 I didn’t know that, that’s really interesting

[@goodfox9250]

You talked me into it. I am visiting the Alberta museum.

[@sniperbob1992]

Been there. Seen it. Worth it.

[@scotth6814]

Kudos to the mining company for calling the paleontogists and stopping excavation. As for lifting it, any engineer would have seen that you need to tie those two beams together first.

[@GMoney-B]

A 10 year old could have figured that out.

[@EGarrett01]

The construction company had been told beforehand that there might be fossils in the rock and IIRC signed an agreement to notify them if they saw anything.

[@BigpapamoneymanMVPtypebeat]

The construction workers probably were watching like “omg should we say something” “Nah let’s see how this plays out”

[@HonkeyKong54]

It wasnt the people who set it ups fault is was the crane operator. Also engineers are the worst fn ppl to have on any real work site.

[@xyannail4678]

​@@HonkeyKong54 Shut your mouth.

[@typorter-pp6lh]

Imagine what size of predator must have existed for a 3,000 pound animal to require that much protective armor.

[@wilfdarr]

Armour with shoulder spikes. Though it could have been to protect them from their own species, like antlers, horns, or tusks. Bison have a thick hide yet no natural predators. It's a good question...

[@yeahokbuddy2510]

Wilfred Darr wolves hunt bison.... you never seen a video of a pack of grey wolves hunting down a solo bison?

[@SahilP2648]

@@yeahokbuddy2510 I think lions, crocodiles and hyenas hunt bison too

[@keltondavis4559]

@@SahilP2648 how do those animals hunt bison if bison live on the great plains of North America and not Africa

[@Skoomz]

@@keltondavis4559 ah yes, the amazing geometric planes of North America.

[@daemonblackfyre6242]

Wait so they decided to lift the fossil by supporting the weight on both of the ends of the rock and leave the middle portion completely unsupported? I’m not an engineer or anything but...

[@bug5654]

Academics trying to do real work, can’t expect much.

[@elimarc3891]

6 years later they got it all together again.

[@manssupar]

Maybe they don't have enough tools.

[@ZeteticPhilosopher]

bug5654 ...sure, or maybe people should just stay in their lane. Ask a physicist, engineer, or technician how to move a rock, don’t comment attacking an entire field of knowledge gathering because a few people failed to move that rock without breaking it.

[@joshua41175]

I mean, I remember this last dig I was on we had to remove a sandstone face in small chunks and then I spent the next year cleaning each chunk.

[@shlagin9354]

Not only was the fossil on 2 beams, the beams were not connected which caused them to splay out. It's likely that it wasn't even just the weight of the fossil that caused it to break, it was the force vectors pushing outwards (due to the rope setup) which created tension within the fossil. Notice how as soon as the fossil breaks the beams immediately go outward?

[@scissorbeaksgames8208]

You are looking at this like an engineer, which is something they lacked.

[@blackdogadonis]

Basic load dynamics, yes...

[@shlagin9354]

@@blackdogadonis Exactly! It's ridiculous that nobody thought of this. A highschooler taking physics would know this

[@kylefastenau7884]

@@shlagin9354 not even in physics and I saw it from a mile away

[@kovelamanas9905]

I was beginning to wonder why they don't have a flat plate kind of thing underneath it and it broke into two.

[@michaelnoble2432]

"Goes wrong in the worst possible way". I was thinking that someone died while trying to extract the fossil. But this is much worse, the title didn't exaggerate at all...

[@TR4R]

Bah! A dead man is nothing to pay for a fossil! Humans are expendable!

[@skurd721]

@@TR4R fun.

[@Dr.Kraig_Ren]

​@@TR4RI genuinely laughed on this

[@paytonpryor]

Man they should have know plaster wasn't going to hold a rock together. Paper only covers rock in rock paper scissors.

[@SahilP2648]

Lol exactly. The wooden platform wasn't the issue here.

[@SahilP2648]

@@RootVegetabIe it might be when the 'stuff' doesn't weigh multiple tonnes lol. That plaster is not going to hold anything more than half a tonne max. Its like wrapping your car in that stuff and expecting it to not break when your car hangs by it.

[@Hygix_]

flex tape should do the work

[@SahilP2648]

@@RootVegetabIe watch the video again. They say they plastered it to make it a single piece. It wasn't only for shaking. I would rather coat the entire thing in concrete or cement and then break it later than breaking the whole thing before moving lol. Plaster should never have been an option in the first place. If they had coated it with concrete, I bet it wouldn't have broken in half.

[@loekmunsters5968]

@@SahilP2648 Concrete would have broken aswell concrete can sustain high pressure, but when its been pulled apart it can only sustain a small force. Reinforced concrete however is a different story.

[@supernoob7064]

I was expecting the fossil to come back to life and eat him. That’s the worst possible way to me.

[@williamretnaraj9225]

Same here. I mean, come on. What could possibly be more horrific than that?

[@TomYourmombadil]

Idk I mean that would be pretty epic so for him it would be the worst thing possible but for everybody else it would be awesome

[@arnbrandy]

It should have at least unleashed an ancient curse over the world and such.

[@supernoob7064]

Hahaha corona meets the mummy

[@bnt7526]

Same thought xD

[@rikkus67]

I am incredibly honoured to know the Executive Director of the Royal Tyrrell Museum, personally. Prior to going on public display, she gave me a behind the scenes tour, and I was able to meet Borealopelta before public display. At the time, they were still putting it back together, but the pieces were in position. Even though it is not complete, coming so close (I could not touch it obviously, but was mere inches away), you fully expected Borealopelta to wake up...almost like an overgrown dog. You can make out scales and skin detail, almost as if it were still alive. It is an afternoon I will never forget. Thank you, LM.

[@ashwinnmyburgh9364]

It is still one of the most extraordinary fossils I have ever seen. So well preserved.

[@soulmaster9481]

It was so good that I honestly thought it was fake.

[@hudsonhintze]

Big old fossil? Important? Put it on two stilts and lift it like cargo.

[@dudakoff1000]

how hard would it have been to just find a sturdy slab

[@ayman4540]

I don't know why the sent the stupidest people there.

[@mai.vancon]

They weren’t palaeontologists.

[@hudsonhintze]

@@dudakoff1000 right? like just a big slab?

[@hudsonhintze]

@Spartacus Maximus I immediately knew what was wrong and I am not that bright

[@carllarsen6234]

This is what happens when seven supervisors try to work a job site..

[@DBT1007]

Welp. Don't blame them. They're just a mere miner. It's like when u ask someone that can't cook to cook. The result of course will be bad. Don't be harsh to them.

[@mosseblack8635]

Spot on

[@indiasuxks7100]

Carl Larsen Until you find out the smithsonian is responsible for covering up history destroying artifact life proof of giants in North America. North America has saswuatches as well. Look up Dennis Martin Look up pyramids in America. Ohio. Look up nice to Egypt lived in Grand Canyon The smithsonian wants us to believe the continents were once connected. I hate to break it to you it still is. When you drain a lake or dam there is surface under the water All continents are still connected You swim on the beach your feet is on sand. It's not randomly floating Smithsonian wants us to believe there are 300k active satellites but why have I never seen a satellite? Why when I google "photo of satellite" only animated photos. Why if the earth spins at 23000 mph, when I jump up I land in same place If I lived on a vintage vinyl record and played the record player If I jumped on the record player I wouldn't land in the same spot. If the earth spins so fast why does the sun and moon rise and set only one time per day?

[@lolihitler4198]

India Suxks take your pills my man

[@emilkarenon2503]

It's no mystery that academic paleontologists are weekend warriors when it comes to field work

[@oreo9732]

Respect to the guy for spending 6years of his life putting it together.

[@Jin-Ro]

As soon as I saw those two wooden beams I thought, uh oh, physics is gonna happen.

[@sjoak4084]

“Goes wrong in the worst possible way.” Me: *pictures the fossil coming to life in the middle of a field trip.* Was disappointed

[@michaelbross5687]

Lol same idk what I was expecting but it wasn’t that 😂

[@colbornfarms4849]

Very disappointing

[@cezarcatalin1406]

SCP682-B

[@TriggaHappy00121213]

How is that a possible way? Lol

[@jacobklein2658]

Literally same tho

[@Cyber_Horse_Studios87]

“A fossil excavation goes wrong in the worst possible way” Me when I first saw the title: Oh, so it came to life?

[@JohnSmith-qm1gg]

Our reality isn't that interesting.

[@shaan702]

They would probably be so excited they get to study a live specimen and then they would immediately be killed.

[@threeomgthree]

@@shaan702 its ankylosaur fossil, if they were to keep their distance theyd be fine.

[@unknownguy2092]

@@JohnSmith-qm1gg reality could be interesting if we all had the courage to press the starting button😂

[@shaan702]

@@unknownguy2092 the starting button?

[@littlemrpinkness295]

I was somewhat heartened to see how concerned the construction workers were.

[@realessayog6947]

Too many comments about the rocks and none about the amazing scientist who put together the pieces for 6 YEARS !!!! WOW

[@Chief_5]

Lesson learned - support the bottom of what you’re lifting.

[@robertimmanuel577]

The middle.

[@campkira]

don't left the middle unsupport it a 100 million rock not a reinforce steel... i can see it break right away...it just too heavy..

[@deepstariaenigmatica2601]

i think it was inevitably going to break

[@Mael_Str0M]

7-year old me learned that the hard way with my LEGO Rancor Pit

[@lostpony4885]

This is cuz no more paper grocery bags, leaves us improperly trained for life.

[@aryaa7334]

We just gonna ignore it has a pair of side blades to take out the wheels of other dinosaurs

[@amarismorgan195]

Ikr😂

[@aryaa7334]

@@amarismorgan195 felt cute might customize my fenders idk

[@jameshauck9148]

Smh dinosaurs didn't travel on wheels They used treads

[@acoolsardine7728]

*elbows

[@yaihrherrera2156]

Yeah they just discovered that this species was hunted to extinction by another dinosaur that adapted to those blades it was called Tank-ceratops

[@HazaHyperion]

No fossil excavation going wrong in the worst possible way sounds like this: “Scientist discover the new most deadly animal on the planet, however also discover that it isn’t as dead as they hoped it would be...”

[@ECCastiron]

“Scientist discover the new most deadly animal on the planet, Shortly later it discovers them".

[@burtan2000]

SIX YEARS. I am incredibly thankful they did this and that there are people willing to dedicate their life to such tedious, but important work. I'd be bored after a few hours. But such is science: we stand on the shoulders of past generations

[@thingsstuff4611]

Did anyone scan him for a chip? I'm sure his owners are worried sick.

[@toocutepuppies6535]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Luke__Whelan]

Yeah I lost my dog for a week once, can't imagine what it'd be like to lose him for 110 million years!

[@tamfuwing1]

ROFL

[@VanlifewithAlan]

That gave me a good laugh!

[@kn3765]

Thank you, I needed that laugh! 🤣

[@darthjump]

The fact that they only used two support beams makes me angry.

[@peaceable263]

Ya when I saw that they only had two I knew what was about to happen.

[@NotKimiRaikkonen]

There's a reason you hold an egg that you're cracking in one hand, like that...

[@kasperkjrsgaard1447]

The fact that they only used support beams makes me sad.

[@koopertrooper7008]

they werent equipped with the tools to properly carry giant rocks probably

[@brertt8350]

And they had it on a rope system which cracked it like an egg, there's a good chance that one more support or just a different lifting method wouldn't have done that

[@SHOrTwiREDdeviantart]

'a fossil excavation goes wrong in the worst way possible', me as a geology student, i know exactly what's gonna happen... Seeing it crumble like that though, I would've had a meltdown and started sobbing.

[@DerMunger]

When the rock collapsed, I felt that. Ouch. Good on the team to not lose faith and still try and recover whatever they had left. And what they had left! Borealopelta is one of the most beautifully preserved armoured Dinosaur fossils I have ever seen. It feels like it could spring back to life at any moment.

[@iaronflame]

I went to this museum and saw this fossil. It was really amazing seeing it in person.

[@jonathanleyva9840]

What museum is this ?

[@Dean-nq8so]

@@jonathanleyva9840 I may be wrong but I saw a fossil that looked very similar to this in the London natural history museum a while back

[@austinbevis4266]

I’m so jealous

[@cameronblack888]

This is the stuff KZbin comment sections are for

[@bruceanderson3811]

WA

[@VSLeader1]

3:00 "But no one has seen a nodosaur species like this" That tends to happen when you have to glue back together ten thousand fragments

[@blergjoka3116]

Lol how this comment is so underrated

[@bittubiswas263]

best comment on this thread 😂

[@RaphaelAnthony]

"No one knows how it looks like sooo It probably looks like this [[ *scribbles on a paper and draws two eyes and a tail* ]] ta da!" - him probably

[@satya982k]

Agree

[@cameronortega534]

Reading this while it’s going on

[@riceandcheese1463]

Thank god they didn’t ruin it cause that’s a really well preserved fossil that I would love to see some day

[@MLFreese]

Seeing this, and thinking of the amount of time that has passed since its death vs how little time we humans have existed for gives me a feeling of cosmic horror. Just think of the massive, carnivorous monsters that had to exist for this thing to evolve the kind of armor it had.

[@icanbe]

The way the story is playing out... I thought someone was about to get murdered

[@ML-fc3je]

That or they discover dna incased in some amber and they accidentally released a virus

[@monks311]

Seriously lol

[@crazytiger800]

Feels like a certain John Carpenter’s film

[@cosmobirdie5766]

Yeah like a horror movie

[@ML-fc3je]

@@crazytiger800 wait what was that movie with an asteroid bringing a virus to earth and the towns goes into quarantine.

[@rogeliorodriguez8518]

Man, that is so cool. The closest we'll ever get to see a dinosaur. Blows my mind.

[@drsauce2574]

Nah where more than likely gonna replicate dinosaurs from DNA

[@guitardaddy6]

Dinosaurs aren't real. This is God's test!!! Ha jk

[@jackthequarterback]

Dr Sauce what dna? Dna does not hall a half-life long enough to clone dinosaurs.

[@quantumfluctuation5667]

this is fake

[@jackthequarterback]

Quantum Fluctuation lol no it’s not. Do you think the earth is flat bud?

[@yourfriend988]

I went here 4 days ago. Such an amazing museum to visit. Saw this fossil.

[@NSA720]

Note to self: don't hire a Canadian engineer.

[@warphonesS22]

Imagine how many fossils that mine plowed through already.

[@kingstrap8159]

It is what it is!!

[@orphanoforbit7588]

@@kingstrap8159 what does that mean?

[@lckoolg622]

That fossil may have been the only one in a 100 square miles. Imagine that.

[@vnd-4862]

@@lckoolg622 there could’ve been 100 in one square mile imagine that

[@lckoolg622]

@VnD There could have been 10,065 in 12350000 sq mile. Imagine that.

[@ricardoniz8857]

Imagine what else lays in the ground , what we haven’t dug up..yet

[@isaacb5968]

Imagine what other companies have dug up and destroyed, just so they could keep digging and making money

[@robjohnson8861]

@Muhammad Zain Geesus. And you are typing this as you applaud shelter in place laws, right.

[@lambertlum1087]

@Muhammad Zain Laws don't mean anything in the countryside where no one is watching. You just need to pay cash bounties that will pay better than the coal that is being scooped from the ground.

[@animalanimal7939]

I agree. There has to be much more

[@evanw2195]

Everything

[@the_infinexos]

Most incredible fossil ever found, laying for tens of millions of years, instantly broken by humanity. Yeah, that sums up mankind pretty well

[@DylansPen]

The incredible moment, "It sat there in the dirt for 110 million years and we watched it break apart in three seconds." It was a 40 million year old fossil when T-Rex was running around on Earth, and it is probably the most incredible fossil every discovered. The follies of man.

[@chinaman1]

The guy putting those pieces together better be paid millions for his job.

[@dominicstocker5144]

Why?

[@anxietyplague1221]

@@dominicstocker5144 cause this is vital for our knowledge of the past

[@couldyoushutup6541]

It was likely a team of people..

[@dominicstocker5144]

@@anxietyplague1221 but it’s his job

[@freddyfazbearspizza3131]

@@dominicstocker5144 And he needs to be paid for his job lol

[@daniellecozzetto5802]

Imagine the feeling in their stomachs when that fossil fell. Jesus.

[@skrutika7579]

Omg dude.....I'm a geology hons. student nd also studies paleontology as a part of hons. nd we handle evn a three or four inch of plant fossil with care or just put a layer of cotton beneath it..........my heart just dropped wen I saw this beautiful piece fall apart I can't evn imagine wat they must be going through at tht moment....

[@Miftahul_786]

Krutika Mallick You sure love missing out vowels in your words don’t you?

[@timgleason2527]

I nearly cry when I drop a piece of shredded cheese out of my taco. I can’t even imagine.

[@skrutika7579]

@@Miftahul_786 oh yeah.....😅😅😅nothing to be proud of but.....YS!😅😂

[@hmm6415]

@@Miftahul_786 makes you question that statement regarding care when it isn't even applied to a simple sentence 😂

[@karoonboomie2813]

It’s a fossil, they are made to crumble and be out back together, that’s what’s so great about paleontologists, they do this as a living, what an amazing trait.

[@compatriot852]

It's such a shame to think about how much artifacts/fossils have probably been lost due to careless construction or failed excavations

[@janep4652]

Or how many you’ve burned in your gas tank.

[@Thunder_warrior]

Everyone here makes jokes about a dino getting alive, but I'm simply stunned by the amount of work the scientist have done to unveil this amazingly well preserved ancient relic!

[@NoxmilesDe]

They literally broke it in half

[@bartlucassen9145]

All those years of studying, and then grinding for 6 years?

[@tameronica]

ikr, even if the fossil was broken by the engineers the scientists were still able to put it back together.

[@annamarietparreno3948]

I just clicked this video just thinking : “ it’s gonna come to life! “ I’m disappointed I also don’t really care

[@Sarabheswaran7010]

Yeah, but if only they had tried to put another support to the middle area of the fossil, they could have gotten less salary for six years and wouldn't be posted in same place while given important subsidiaries by the concerned government department😉

[@Frostgnaw]

It took them 6 years to uncover the fossil?! Holy cow, I had no idea. Way more appreciation for fossils in museums from now on...

[@Ronan_McIntyre]

I’ve seen this fossil and u don’t realize the size of it until u are looking at it in person

[@asianthor]

Imagine what is under the floors of the oceans.

[@haraldhonk4650]

Mostly basaltic crust. But yes, on continental shelf there are tons of fossils.

[@zobblewobble1770]

Harald Honk They actually have found fragments of plateosaurus bones about 2km below the seabed when they drilled some cores off the coast of Norway in the North Sea. That area is part of the continental plate and was not underwater during the Triassic. There might be some marine fossils under the eons of marine sediment in the deep ocean, but nothing older than the Jurassic period since all the older rocks have since subducted under the continental plates and melted.

[@rsrt6910]

Probably the basements of the oceans.

[@chasegaming2262]

Frederick Rhodes did u get all from google ?😆

[@joltster109]

Terror. Pure unadulterated terror lies beneath the sands of the deep.....

[@ayysop1404]

I’m not sure how I’d handle discovering a 100 million year old fossil and just shortly after accidentally breaking it into pieces

[@ifyouwoooshmeyouhavesmallp7603]

Oh i had it happen with a mammothtooth. Its terrible

[@rhavenovoidderris4109]

I'd die both inside and outside

[@alexipilon8319]

If I was a paleontologist there I'd have an aneurysm

[@jacob01711]

Was the fossil really that fragile to the point they actually shattered it into pieces?

[@JustaDislikeButton]

@@jacob01711 Yes it's old look at the elderly they are fragile now times their age by millions and million of years could sneeze and they would crumble

[@KAIJUKING123]

1:42 my Dino loving heart broke just like that beautiful fossil.

[@calicoheart4750]

Imagine feeling like you broke something that was 110 million years old

[@EmmaJohnson-dt3vm]

It’s actually really cool to see in person, because you can’t really gauge how big it is from the video itself

[@gumelini1]

3000 pounds.Not much,size of 2 adult horses

[@noelanderson969]

@@gumelini1 about 4 tons

[@ambulocetusnatans]

Oh, you got to see it? I'm jealous.

[@robjohnson8861]

@@noelanderson969 so where in the world is 3000 lbs, 4 tons?

[@gumelini1]

@@noelanderson969 4 what?Oh Lord help us please

[@iankarfs4568]

Why didn’t they put a whole platform underneath? No just two poles, got it.

[@pommiebears]

The Elder Dragon they’re the experts....apparently! Lol. I stick to common sense, and it works pretty well for me, and you too, it seems. 👍🏽😁

[@afunkylittleguy]

bears they probably didn't expect it to crumble like that

[@Theeastsideoasis]

That was my initial thought lmboo

[@littlesnowflakepunk855]

Rock is usually more stable than this. The lifting apparatus they're using is very common for quarries because it allows lifting of a variety of shapes and sizes and cuts down on the load that the crane is having to support.

[@zoinksscoob6523]

@@littlesnowflakepunk855 well still, since its a special case how about being extra careful than usual

[@winterr.m]

PBS eons actually has a very well detailed video about this fossil. Definitely recommend watching it

[@flyin4352]

I grew up watching Time Team in the UK and the care they put into excavations always made me think archaeologists were highly professional and carefull people. I have learned that I was wrong today

[@xKINGxOFxDONSx]

Well that was quite the smashingly interesting video

[@unclemayhem6696]

🥁BUD-A-BUMP-TSHHHH!

[@zachariahstewart8875]

It crumbled.

[@joelleyang4906]

It shattered my expectations

[@youngvices7938]

Your girlfriend was smashingly interesting

[@jm8080ful]

I literally screamed at that part of the video where it broke in half.

[@ryo0ka936]

In my neighboring city that's an excavation site as a whole (Kyoto) we often heard that construction managers hate to delay their schedule and would instruct workers to destroy whatever they dig out on site. As a young kid i was thinking that's impossible for such worldwide-known city and it had to be a silly rumor. Next minute my own town had an "accident" where a telecom company had a plan to build an antenna on top of what turned out to be a pretty important tomb from A.D. 5 and got snitched out by someone with a common sense working on site, though leaving the tomb unrecoverable by the time the city had to physically step in to stop the construction. It was a devastating news for me and I'm now convinced that the rumor was true over there as well. Also still hate that telecom company to this day and I've never bought their product. Edit: words

[@elenasullivan4522]

was it a local company? or are they big? (I think that’s ridiculous too by the way, deciding that you’re more important and structured that have been there for millennia, you’re tearing apart history that can never be out back together again. ugh.)

[@ryo0ka936]

@@elenasullivan4522 i didn't dig into that (no pun intended) but i'm assuming it's a combination of both given that the client was a nation-wide telecom company and they generally work in a chain of sub-contracts down to the local labor. I don't know in which layer they decided to full send it but I'd think that it's a structural problem rather than a sole company being responsible in the chain

[@runway5338]

@gunner Richthofen ugh, this just tears me. The lost history, culture and knowledge that we won’t have unless those relics are found again (most likely destroyed by the careless workers), and who knows how long that will take.

[@Goreuncle]

@ryo0ka It's "site", not "cite".

[@sonya9632]

Local telecom company found dead. Hit on the head with wacky shovel. More news at 11

[@craigroaring]

It's great to see excavators and construction workers identify the possibility that they have found something important.

[@patrickr2601]

I don’t even know anything about this kind of stuff, but I felt that gut wrench watching the mistake happen.

[@jrtheone1764]

Narrator- After 6 years of work the scientists have identified “the victim” 😂😂😂

[@codemy666]

@@RandomRoulett3 it broke in half

[@David.d.d.d]

@@codemy666 that’s a little more than half

[@codemy666]

@@David.d.d.d Depends how you look at it

[@kawaiinesscuresdepression2363]

Yup

[@Skwertydogs]

Even dinosaurs are getting in on the "woke" party. Now, everyone mortal animal is a VICTIM!

[@Cogzed]

Carl: “Hey Earl. Instructions on the plaster says we should have waited 24 hours.” Earl: “Shut up Carl!”

[@shannonbuckley3631]

😂🤣🤣

[@boatboy222]

And it also says plaster must be a foot thick! "Ive warned you Carl"....

[@wbrosen]

@@boatboy222 instructions were not in Canadian

[@icemancometh8679]

Hahahahaha

[@aneshkumar4513]

Carl and Earl from GTA SA and NFS MW

[@greenbongos]

This may have happened way back when but my stomach still dropped when that rock burst open. Like the drop off feeling of jumping off a cliff or dropping a glass, I hate it. Awesome documentary I could have watched 5 hours on.

[@ThisHandleFeatureIsStupid]

Brutal mishap aside, I highly recommend visiting Drumheller! I went to the Tyrrel Museum around 2011. Nearby, there's also Horseshoe Canyon (where a casual stroll can lead you to find several-thousand-year-old cave paintings), and "Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump", where natives have been herding and killing bison since pre-history. It's an area which is really rich in ancient history, and it's all pretty accessible. I have very fond memories of my time there. 🥰

[@monkeseeaction21987]

They should have named the species "don't lift fossils with two sticks."

[@beastinsight9825]

@Martin Ma Two Stick

[@lincroyableprocrastinateur5414]

Someone suggested dumfukosaurus..

[@JeantheQueen6699]

-saurus

[@danielkatona8778]

"Worst possible way": Nobody even got injured and they managed to restore the fossil perfectly.

[@TriggaHappy00121213]

6years of delicate work tho. I think the whole thing crumbling before them was seen as worse case.

[@adorablecheetah2930]

@@TriggaHappy00121213 exactly

[@pimwongsuthi03]

It's not about restoring it though. It's been there even before any of us were born.

[@zoinksscoob6523]

the title said about the excavation not the restoration duhhh

[@unkeptnorthernbloke5265]

Yeah it needed more life altering injury tbf

[@solar-jaymi]

The fact that they technically found a near complete mummified dinosaur and people who don't believe I'n dinosaurs would still say it's fake 💀

[@lbco5229]

The good thing is that putting broken pieces back together is kinda what most paleontologists do - but here they still have all the pieces.

[@captainawesome4983]

What a heart breaker. The real story is how you moved forward. Brilliant display of determination despite the setbacks. Thanks for sharing 💜 what a beautiful critter you have recovered and displayed for the world to see....

[@robjohnson8861]

Appear to be quite the idiots if you ask me. Wouldn't somebody have thought it may be fragile and needed more support on the bottom.

[@cgaccount3669]

I wonder if breaking it revealed inner anatomy? Perhaps a blessing in disguise?

[@robjohnson8861]

@Cue ball Unreinforced concrete is how strong? Who new plaster is stronger.

[@junkman007]

My heart sank when i saw the fossil crumble apart like that. Extremely impressed you put Humpty back together again though :D

[@zayamane6220]

I thought it was funny tbh

[@Dikwili]

How could an entire team of professionals think that was a good idea?

[@sinclair2469]

this fossil makes me believe that dinosaurus are infact even cooler looking then portrayed in movies

[@hanhil3673]

6 years of that work requiring that amount of skill,concentration and patience. Wow. I tip my hat to you Sir, with a job profile I've never even heard before.

[@jacktether6648]

Imagine how good he is at lego if he can assemble that thing

[@shab90]

I was hoping to hear how many pieces it shattered into and what it took to piece it together and identify the type of dinosaur the fossils came from.

[@hrpdrp97]

Got some high expectations for the smithsonian if you expect more than basic information from them.

[@PtLeoJet]

My interpretation of the worst thing possible was a fatal accident, so I'm glad that didn't happen

[@tdwayne1]

Fascinating ...what will we find next ..❤ thanks for sharing

[@SomeScruffian]

When they said "Goes wrong in the worst possible way", I expected it to come to life and rampage tokyo

[@justwaiting5744]

Top comment

[@thelastkiwii322]

Too much anime lol

[@canarialurker5976]

I was expecting viruses

[@gora2497]

Me too hahaha

[@user-kt3jn7wx5f]

Same here😂😂😂🤣🤣

[@samuelaraujomedeiros6682]

If there are no T-Rexes running around biting and pulling people, it didn't go the worst way possible.

[@GrizzledBear7]

Tyrannosaur couldn’t chew. Only bite and pull

[@tokumo2190]

they rip and tear until theres none

[@samuelaraujomedeiros6682]

@@GrizzledBear7 I never thought about that, but it makes sense.

[@ninadachrekar7215]

@@GrizzledBear7 imagine getting bit by a T-Rex

[@minmi9231]

@@ninadachrekar7215 pain as it shatters your bones

[@beethozart9567]

They didnt apply the formular ; pressure= force/area.They should have placed it on a structure with broad surface (low pressure) before lifting it. Those two sticks used in the lifting had small surface area therefore much pressure was exerted on the fossil causing it to break. Nice work at last.

[@lukeusdodd7130]

Such a rookie mistake don't even have to be a engineer to see what was done wrong. Should of had something to keep the two beams from swinging independently and there was absolutely no support in the middle at all

[@MrJdebest]

The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is a palaeontology museum and research facility in Drumheller, Alberta, Canada. The museum is situated within a 12,500-square-metre-building designed by BCW Architects at Midland Provincial Park. When Canada reopens , go visit this museum. It is a 5 star, world class, working museum . Great experience 😊🇨🇦

[@malan873]

Yeah it's pretty rad. Seems they've added some new things too when I was there last time so it's always nice to visit at least once a year.

[@restezlameme]

Thank you my dude 👍

[@ambulocetusnatans]

They have a youtube channel with more info about this and other discoveries.

[@Valley_view]

Yes indeed! Me and my older brother went in 1997 for a sleep over tour. One could sleep under any skeleton. It was awsome! beautiful experience. And we had the privilege of meeting Robert Bakker himself.

[@sinisterminister6478]

I've lived in Alberta for the last 30 years and have never been there. I'll have to get there one of these days.

[@pukemon7045]

Who's that Pokemon? It's nodosaur!

[@assimkiller]

I mean it looks like torterra

[@ClownActual]

Fantastic job to the survey team that found the fossil!

[@MW-tt3fy]

These people leave something behind. Thank you for this wonderful work. A large part of my job consists of bullsh...

[@f0rmaggi0]

If they didn’t find out how it died in the first 48 hours they never will.

[@ishouldntbesayingthisbecau1257]

wut?

[@tomoyatoko7262]

What they put together in the end isn't 100% by the way.. Many skeleton fossils are just guesses, many have been debunked after years. Don't believe me do your research. 👍

[@ubern00bkye]

@@tomoyatoko7262 that's true!

[@theguythatlikeslegos7708]

Acutely not 100% true, but it is somewhere in the 90%, and there are people more skilled then them, or people more skilled in that specific thing, so what I'm trying to tell you is it takes a men to find out. (:

[@zacharietelles7626]

I don’t think these 4 commenters understood your joke

[@KarimJovian]

....looks like he sculpted it himself

[@extraterrestrian]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@intosomethingsometimes2193]

Yeah thats what’s I’m saying

[@notice78]

@America First Its because the animal is inside the rock you see at first, they just scraped away the stone around it to reveal the dinosaur ;)

[@jenaroayala5731]

@@notice78 dont listen to these idiots they're probably trumptard flat earthers

[@thatonebackgroundcharacter2194]

@@jenaroayala5731 what does supporting Trump have to do with general stupidity?

[@downhilldom84]

Best moment at 01:42. The plaster cracks and the sunglass-mustache-chief immediately turns around and accuses the crane operator without saying anything, although HE didn't support the middle section of the weight. :D

[@shadowbanned5164]

Had to laugh when I saw no middle cross strut on the lifting apparatus lol

[@lvlyflrs3736]

I cry for the pain felt by the workers. Let's have some understanding and kindness here.

[@JohnSmith-qm1gg]

They aren't use to that type of work.

[@veetatceetit3054]

And here a true human :)

[@TheLyricsGuy]

It amazes me that dinosaurs actually existed and were roaming around the earth-possibly right where you live. They seem like some fantasy mythological creatures. Except they were actually real.

[@imjustaguy4340]

They probaboy look a lot more familiar with skin, bones look a lot difrent then what it actualy is, i mean look at whale bones

[@user-xf6ty4iv9w]

They are still here among us.

[@TheLyricsGuy]

@@imjustaguy4340 Idk man I’ve never seen anything that resembles a T-Rex. Imagine if those guys were still around! 😲

[@luismoref]

@@TheLyricsGuy I have four chickens in my backyard, sometimes it seems like four dinosaurs. They destroy everything and make strange noises.

[@scubasam4255]

i can handle there being gaint lizards with feathers at some point ........ it is the giant insects that haunt my dreams

[@eldarius237]

I can imagine the archeologist guy "thanking" the excavation team every day of his life during the 6 years lol

[@forsaturn4629]

I assumed a net would be better at lifting that rock than those pillars

[@jeffjones6951]

At 1:36 If they had simply chained the two support booms together the tensile force would have been reduced

[@4th19th2]

@False Flag every one has a bad office day.

[@4th19th2]

@False Flag no one's perfect.

[@jeffjones6951]

@False Flag That kind of basic knowledge is not even learned in H.S. but on construction sites

[@jeffjones6951]

@False Flag Not saying that engineering can't be taught in H.S. (most often isn't; you were fortunate) but that a curious and observant construction worker can learn as much on a jobsite

[@northdakotaham1752]

@@jeffjones6951 could have been more of a basic physics type problem. The stresses created by the manner in which they were lifting.

[@MuhammadImran-mc2gq]

just read "A Fossil Excavation Goes Wrong" I thought it will attack scientists, disappointed

[@MayaLea99]

6 years of work,.. imagine how much time would be saved if those idiots didn’t break such a valuable piece

[@Psalm-yg6yi]

@1:43 Now the know the feeling when he little girl plays that claw game at the local grocery store. She picks her favorite stuffed animal, it picks it up, moves to closer to the hole, but before it gets there it drops back into the pile. LOL

[@jimstanley5239]

They really didn't expect even the possibility of that happening when supporting it at the farthest opposite ends? Common sense goes a long way