Make Tracks for Skye – Dinosaurs First Footing on Island Home
Make Tracks for Skye –
Dinosaurs First Footing on Island Home
Well with the weather being what it is just now I can hardly believe that it was once warm enough on the Isle of Skye to have 2 meter tall dinosaurs hopping round the island instead of the plague of midges you’d expect instead. Well scientists have just located a series of dinosaur footprints which are telling us a lot about the geological history of the north east of Scotland in the Jurassic period. It was something like 170 million years ago when the tracks were made in a muddy lagoon off the north-east coast of what is now the Isle of Skye. And they were made by an ancestor of that terrible lizard the T-Rex. They are called theropods and along with their prints are those of long-necked sauropods: All weighing in at some two metres tall.
Before T-Rex Was King
This is important stuff as the dinosaurs come from the Middle Jurassic period and there are very few sites extant from this period. The dinos were loitering around a shallow lagoon way back when Scotland was much warmer and the air was richer in oxygen. There are some 50 footprints at Brothers’ Point, also known as Rubha nam Brathairean which is a in a tidal area on Skye’s Trotternish peninsula. Because it is tidal the scientist were hindered by the incoming tides, but they studied the tracks at length and used drones to make a map of the site. Now I live on what you might laughingly call a lagoon, but I have no seen any dinosaurs lately, but the seagulls have definitely made a mess of the living room windows. But there is wildlife out there. Only last Saturday we had a fox stuck on the breakwater at high tide and not so fantastic Mr Fox had to endure hours of harassment by some crows before escaping across the sand at low tide.
Make Tracks to JP
Well you won’t have to endure hours of harassment at James Pirie and you will be able to leave traces for the next generation and beyond as our stuff goes the distance, quality always does you know! If you want a piece of art there is the lovely Richard Cooper bronzes sculptures, a prize for all. But if you fancy something new to James Pirie try our smashing barrel shaped Royal Scot Crystal - Art Deco Crystal Gin & Tonic Tumblers. Magic!
