JENSEN, Utah (KTVX) — In a groundbreaking discovery, fossils have been unearthed for the first time in over a century from beneath the parking area of the Quarry Exhibit Hall at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.

As detailed in a release by the National Park Service (NPS), construction teams working on the parking lot unearthed a section of asphalt. Beneath it, park staff identified a layer of dinosaur-laden sandstone, prompting a pause in construction to allow paleontologists to investigate further.

“The excitement was palpable,” shared ReBecca Hunt-Foster, the monument’s paleontologist, in a conversation with Nexstar’s KTVX. “While we had hoped to make a find, witnessing the fossils just beneath the pavement was thrilling.”

In addition to paleontologists, the fossil extraction was a collaborative effort involving NPS employees, members of the Utah Conservation Corps, volunteers, and even the on-site construction team. The discovered remains are believed to be from a sizable, long-necked dinosaur, which the NPS suggests is likely a Diplodocus.

“The excavation was challenging due to the hardness of the rock,” Hunt-Foster described. “It was a community effort, with park staff, local volunteers, and even the construction crew lending a hand. We worked swiftly and put in long hours to retrieve the fossils.”

Roughly 3,000 pounds of fossils and rock were removed during this excavation, which started in mid-September and wrapped up in mid-October. Currently, the fossils are being housed at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in Vernal, where they are being cleaned and studied.

 “Excavating is the best part of collecting fossils, so it was really enjoyable,” Hunt-Foster said. “Now the science part, where we’re cleaning the fossils and studying them and trying to figure out what part of the tail and of the leg and of the arm do we have? What other bones may we have collected that we don’t even realize yet? We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us still, so it’ll be exciting to see what comes as we continue to clean things.”

The parking lot construction and road improvement project was completed after the excavation concluded. NPS says it included “extensive concrete and asphalt work” that has resulted in more accessibility in the area.

The location where the fossil was found had not been excavated in over 100 years, the press release said. Between 1909 and 1922, the Carnegie Museum excavated the area, followed by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in 1923 and the University of Utah, which completed its last excavations there in 1924.

Dinosaur National Monument was established during these excavations in 1915, and the Quarry Exhibit Hall shows a preserved section of the historic Carnegie quarry. Visitors can view roughly 1,500 fossils still encased in rock. Some of the new fossils discovered are now on display at the Quarry Exhibit Hall, as well as the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum.

Hunt-Foster shared that paleontologists and park staff are still working to excavate the specimens they found, and hope the public will come visit Dinosaur National Monument to see what they’re working on.