AFTER the Natural History Museum of London (NHM) confirmed that the strange indentations discovered on Penarth beach by walker Kerry Rees could be dinosaur tracks, Mrs Rees has recounted how she came across the "footprints".
The markings, embedded in a section of rock at the beach, are still being investigated by researchers at NHM, and nothing has been confirmed at this stage.
NHM scientists say they do not yet know which dinosaur the prints belong to.
On a sunny day on April 9, Ms Rees, who had been furloughed from her role as a youth worker at Challenge Wales, came across the site on her morning stroll.
She said if it wasn't for lockdown, she wouldn't have even been in Penarth at the time.
"I'm from Penarth but moved to the Rhondda, and was only in Penarth to look after my mother during the pandemic," she said.
"I had an idea it could be evidence of a dinosaur. I knew the area had a history of dinosaur discoveries along this coastline.
"I didn't have much to do in lockdown and decided to take it further and send them to the NHM. I only started to get excited when they informed me they were very interested in the photos.
"I'm trying to not get too excited yet though, as it is still under investigation - I'm not totally sure how it has all come out this morning.
"If they turn out to be genuine footprints, then of course it's very exciting for the area."
If confirmed, they would be the third set of dinosaur tracks in Wales and a huge boost to the area's archaeological heritage, according to researchers.
Professor Paul Barrett, Merit Researcher at the NHM, said: "We're pretty convinced that these are dinosaur tracks but are aware there are other geological processes that can create track-like features.
''We've just started our work on the site so hope to have a definite answer soon.
"Kerry found a series of large indentations on the beach - these are deep, round in outline and bear many of the hallmarks of dinosaur tracks, as they seem to be regularly spaced and have raised mud rims like those that form as a foot pushes into wet mud or sand."
Dr Susannah Maidment, another researcher working on the project, added: "The rocks that these possible tracks are preserved in date from the Late Triassic period so, if we're right, they're among some of the oldest evidence of dinosaurs in the UK.
"Other trackways of similar age, and one good dinosaur skeleton, have been found a few miles along the coast, near Barry, so south Wales was a busy area for dinosaurs at the time."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here