There have been several dinosaur digs since 1997. These are briefly described below, starting with the most current field work at the dinosaur bone bed.
Dinosaur Excursion – 2006
CREW : Tim Fedak, Kathy Goodwin, Jeff Ogden, Collin and Hayley.
In 2006, an excavator was used again to expose the dinosaur bone bed. Removing the erosional debris the crew located the plaster jacket that had protected specimens since the 2004 Big Dig. Another 10 days of field works was conducted to collect additional elements from the site. CBC Nature of Things did some filming for a geology educational production.
Drs. Olsen and Whiteside visited the dig site while they were doing field work in the area.
After collecting some bones from the bone bed, the crew also exposed the layers under the bone bed. They located a mud layer (two phases of green to red mudstone) of importance for describing the stratigraphic location of the bone bed.
2004 – The Big Dig
CREW: Tim Fedak, Brian Matthews, Kathy Goodwin, Jeff Ogden, Andrew Gillis, Kip Keen, Victoria Arbour, Mary Leaman, Vicky Daley, and Zoe the dog.
The dinosaur dig occurred from July 17-29 in 2004. The crew of nine worked through sun and rain to collect more of the nearly complete prosauropod (GF13-III). The shoulder (scapula and coracoids) and disarticulated front limb were collected in several blocks.
Dinosaur Expedition 2000
CREW: Tim Fedak, Brian Matthews, Ken Adams, Catherine Muir, Jim Hunter, Jen MacIntosh, Graeme Calder.
Some of the most important discoveries were made in the summer of 2000. This was also the first time dinosaur field work was documented online, with short daily updates. The daily field logs can still be viewed in the Way Back Machine Archive.
In 1998, the cliff had collapsed and completely buried the dinosaur bone bed. In 2000, a large excavator arrived on the beach to remove tons of sandstone boulders, trees and sand. After the excavator removed most of the material, the dinosaur bone bed was exposed with shovels and brooms.
The dinosaur dig in 2000 took place from July 15 to August 1 (17 days). A crew of seven people worked to carefully expose new skeletons from the dinosaur bone bed. Large blocks of sandstone wrapped in plaster jackets were removed and taken to the Fundy Geological Museum in Parrsboro.
Toward the end of the 2000 dig, the crew made the most significant find. A nearly complete skull of one of a prosauropod dinosaur.
A large section of the dinosaur bone bed was exposed and collected over the 17 days of the dig. The skeletons were articulated, with most of the bones still connected together as they had been when the dinosaurs were alive. Portions of several skeletons were collected, but the skull remained the most significant find.
Material collected from the dinosaur bone bed included the articulated lower left leg (tibia/fibula) and foot, tail, hip and posterior dorsal vertebrae of a large prosauropod dinosaur (Specimen GF13-II). Pushed against the first dinosaur the crew found the articulated skeleton of another prosauropod (GF13-III), which would turn out to be the most complete dinosaur collected from the site so far, and included the first skull.
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