THE SURPRISE FINDS
There is evidence to suggest the
existence of fossils of up to 13 dinosaur
species in Balasinor. Some of these
were indigenous, as was discovered
in the year 2003 by American
palaeontologists who recovered
remains of a sturdy theropod with an
unusual head crest. As an homage
to its place of origin, they named the
new species rajasaurus narmadensis,
which literally translates to ‘the princely
reptile of the Narmada’. If you think the
T-Rex was huge, you’re in for a gigantic
surprise—this local dinosaur species
measured a whopping 30 feet in
length! Another dinosaur fossil nativeClockwise from top left: The entrance to
the Dinosaur Museum; a model of a
theropod; a recreation of a unqiue fossil
scene found at Balasinor; the futuristic
walkway flanked by informative panels.THE DISCOVERY
Chance played a major role in the
discovery of the fossils. In the year
1981, when the Geological Survey of
India was scoping the land for its rich
bounty of minerals, they accidentally
unearthed some remains from the
Cretaceous period. As with any
exciting discovery, news spread like
wildfi re among palaeontologists all
over the world as well as among the
villagers in the region. With little
knowledge of fossils, the villagers
realised there was wealth in their land
but did not know how to maximise their
fortunes. Interestingly, some of them
deifi ed the dinosaur eggs in the area
that bore resemblance to Shiva linga.
However, this wasn’t the only time
fossils were discovered beneath the
desert dust. Earlier in the same decade,
villagers who were mining for limestone
in a neglected portion of land had
discovered some oddly-shaped rocks.
They took what they believed to be
cannonballs to the erstwhile ruler of the
land—a member of the Babi dynasty
who dismissed these rocks as war
souvenirs in the post-Independence
era. It was later discovered that those
unusual rock formations were fossilised
dinosaur eggs!