Dig Diaries: Unearthing Utah’s Dinosaurs for the BBC (Rune)

What was it like working on the Utah dig site, and how did it feel knowing it would later be featured in the BBC’s Walking with Dinosaurs?

It was very special. Like a lot of people, I grew up watching and really loving Walking with Dinosaurs, so being able to watch the programme and recognise people and features was an incredible feeling. I’m really passionate about scientific communication too, so I was excited to see the story they told with the site, one that we were also figuring out during our time on the dig.

Can you describe a typical day at the dig site and any exciting discoveries or moments that stood out to you?

A typical day involved arriving early and hiking up to the site from the base camp. I use a walking cane and have a bit more limited mobility, so I hopped in the flatbed truck with Dr Josh Lively (the dig lead) to rattle our way up to the site. When there we grabbed our brushes, buckets and digging tools and got our assignment for the day. The day then consisted of excavating the bones, cleaning up our quarry space, digging back further into the hill and consolidating and securing bones. Lunch sometime involved a lie down because of the heat or a little wander. By the afternoon, when progress had been made, we might start some specialist work like mapping or plaster jacketing. We always finish the day with a final clean of the site before we pack up and head home.

The whole dig was exciting, but one particular moment was finding this big bone jam behind a shoulder blade in the corner which I then spent the week working on. Seeing that shoulder blade come out of the ground at the end of the dig and being able to plaster the base so it was ready to head back to the lab was just amazing.

How did this fieldwork opportunity enhance your understanding of palaeontology and your academic journey?

There genuinely is nothing like the field for making sense of what you’ve been taught in lectures; the dig gave me a massive confidence boost in sedimentology and my ability to identify the history of a site. It was great at helping reconcile what I’d learnt academically and did improve my understanding a lot.

Before the dig I confess I was pretty hopeless at anatomy, it’s not something that is really focused on in lectures due to it being really complex and difficult to learn so the opportunity of this trip to come face-to-bone with the material was just invaluable for me learning quickly and really understanding what I was seeing.

What skills did you gain from the dig that you think will benefit you in the future?

Honestly, so many! A lot of the more complex or ‘specialist’ skills that we aren’t able to replicate on other field trips are actually quite common in the working world – things like mapping, plaster jacketing a range of sizes and shapes with different techniques, the delicate excavation, dealing with complex sites and the investigation skills we practised through the week are so critical to my future as a palaeontologist.

What advice would you give to future students who are considering studying Palaeontology at Birmingham?

Do it! I have had an amazing university experience here at Birmingham on this programme. My big piece of advice is don’t panic, especially if you are newer to palaeontology or wanting to study it, I myself only decided on palaeontology in sixth form! Come in with an open mind and be willing and ready to learn. Get to know your cohort and the staff, really take advantage of office hours with your lecturers and most importantly – take advantage of the unique opportunities that come your way here in the second city. Best of luck!