What started as a routine dog walk turned into a historic discovery when 25-year-old Damien Boschetto stumbled upon a 70-million-year-old dinosaur fossil near Montouliers, in the Hérault region of southern France.
The discovery took place about three years ago, shortly after a landslide exposed a cliffside area. Boschetto, an amateur paleontologist, immediately recognized that the large bones sticking out of the earth were no ordinary find.
After notifying local authorities, a team of museum experts joined Boschetto in excavating the site. To their amazement, the bones turned out to belong to a Titanosaur—one of the largest dinosaurs to have ever lived on Earth.
A Rare and Valuable Find
Even more astonishing, the fossilized skeleton is around 30 feet (9 meters) long and estimated to be about 70% complete. In the world of paleontology, such well-preserved and nearly complete dinosaur remains are incredibly rare.
“The recent discovery of a fossil bed in the neighboring town of Montouliers provides us with dinosaur skeletons in near-complete anatomical connection. This is a very rare and exceptional find in both France and Europe,” Boschetto told Newsweek.
While the exact species of Titanosaur is yet to be identified, further details are expected to emerge once the findings are formally published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
From Amateur to Aspiring Expert
Since the discovery, Boschetto has left his job in the energy industry to pursue a master’s degree in paleontology. His passion for fossils has now become a professional calling.
In the meantime, the fossil has remained under protection to prevent vandalism, but it will soon go on public display at the Cruzy Museum, where visitors can see the ancient giant up close.
To put this discovery into perspective: although it’s estimated that 1.7 billion Tyrannosaurus rex once roamed the Earth, fossils from fewer than 100 individuals have ever been found—and most of those are only partial skeletons. One of the most complete, known as “Sue,” is about 90% preserved and on display at the Field Museum in Chicago.
This newly unearthed Titanosaur, with 70% of its skeleton intact, now joins the ranks of the most significant dinosaur discoveries in modern European history.
Cover Image Credit: The huge fossils had to be hauled with a crane. Credit: Damien Boschetto.
