Winter Olympics venue near site of 20,000 dinosaur footprints, officials say

A fistful of Olympic participants volition beryllium competing wherever giants erstwhile roamed.

A wildlife lensman successful Italy happened to travel upon 1 of the oldest and largest known postulation of dinosaur footprints astatine a nationalist parkland adjacent the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics venue of Bormio, officials said Tuesday. The entranceway to the park, wherever the prints were discovered, is located astir a mile from wherever the men’s Alpine skiing volition beryllium held.

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In this photograph taken successful September 2025 and released Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, by Stelvio National Park, Late Triassic prosauropod footprints are seen connected the slopes of the Fraeel Valley successful bluish Italy. (Elio Della Ferrera/Stelvio National Park via AP)

The estimated 20,000 footprints are believed to day backmost astir 210 cardinal years to the Triassic Period and made by long-necked bipedal herbivores that were 33 feet long, weighing up to 4 tons, akin to a Plateosaurus, Milan Natural History Museum paleontologist Cristiano Dal Sasso said.

"This clip world truly surpasses fantasy," Dal Sasso added.

Wildlife lensman Elio Della Ferrera made the find astatine Stelvio National Park adjacent the Swiss borderline successful September. The spot is considered to beryllium a prehistoric coastal country that has ne'er antecedently yielded dinosaur tracks, according to experts.

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This photograph, taken successful September 2025 and released Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, by Stelvio National Park, shows a Late Triassic prosauropod footprint discovered successful bluish Italy. (Elio Della Ferrara/Stelvio National Park via AP)

The determination is astir 7,900-9,200 feet supra oversea level connected a north-facing partition that is mostly successful the shade. Dal Sasso said, adding that the footprints were a spot hard to spot without a precise beardown lens.

"The immense astonishment was not truthful overmuch successful discovering the footprints, but successful discovering specified a immense quantity,’’ Della Ferrera said. "There are truly tens of thousands of prints up there, much oregon little well-preserved.’’

Though determination are nary plans arsenic of present to marque the footprints accessible to the public, Lombardy determination politician Attilio Fontana hailed the find arsenic a "gift for the Olympics."

Lombardy portion politician Attilio Fontana attends a property league successful Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, connected the find of thousands of dinosaur tracks successful Lombardy region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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The Winter Olympics are acceptable to instrumentality spot Feb. 6-22.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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