Italian dinosaur graveyard
Numerous dinosaur graveyards are found in sedimentary rocks. A recent report of a ‘herd’ of 11 duckbilled dinosaurs from a graveyard in Italy indicates how secular interpretations change with time.1
Most of the dinosaur skeletons were nearly whole with the bones together. Earlier researchers had interpreted the find as follows:
- The dinosaurs lived on an island, at a time when Europe was a series of islands.
- They were dwarfed (a common outcome for island-dwelling creatures).
- They lived 67 million years ago.
- The 10 metres of thin carbonate layers in which they were found were laid down over 10,000 years.2
But a newer narrative, based in part on one of the same dating techniques as the earlier research, claimed that:
- These dinosaurs did not live on an island.
- They were not dwarfed.
- They lived 81 million years ago.
- The carbonate layers took about 2,000 years to form.1
This highlights the strong role of preconceived ideas in such interpretations.
Burial in the Genesis Flood remains the better solution, especially since the dinosaurs throughout the entire 10 metres of thin carbonate layers were all of the same species. Why would individuals of the same species be buried in the same location repeatedly during a period of over 2,000 years? Clearly it did not take that long.
Moreover, the excellent state of preservation for each of the dinosaurs means the thin beds were deposited rapidly, as expected in the Flood.
References and notes
- Chiarenza, A.A. and 6 others, An Italian dinosaur Lagerstätte reveals the tempo and mode of hadrosauriform body size evolution, Scientific Reports 11(23295), 2021. Return to text.
- Dalla Vecchia, F.M., Tethyshadros insularis, a new hadrosauroid dinosaur (Ornithischia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Italy, J. Vert. Paleontology 29(4):1100–1116, 2009. Return to text.
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