Phu Kum Khao Dinosaur Excavation Site
Phu Kum Khao is a hill formed in the middle of a rice field in Sahatsakhan district of Kalasin Province. Phu Kum Khao is the excavation site where the fossilised remains of dinosaur skeletons were mostly discovered.
The history of the Phu Kum Khao dinosaur excavation site began in 1970 when Phrakhru Wichitsahatsakhun, the abbot of Wat Sakkawan, the temple located at the foothill of Phu Kum Khao, discovered and kept fossils of large animal skeletons. Until in 1980, Varavudh Suteethorn led a team of geologists from the Department of Mineral Resources (Thailand) to survey the area around Phu Kum Khao and found that those fossils were skeletons of the Sauropod dinosaurs.
Later in 1994, Phrakhru Wichitsahatsakhun, the abbot of Wat Sakkawan, found many pieces of fossilised bones protruding from a bed of rocks which the upper soil layers were washed away by rain water. After the discovery made by the monk, a Thai–French expedition team came to explore the site. With a standard excavation system in place, they discovered many more dinosaur fossils in the area. Until late 1995, over 700 fossilised dinosaur bones were discovered in the Sao Khua Formation, belonging to at least 7 Sauropod dinosaurs living in the early Cretaceous period around 130 million years ago.
An interesting aspect is the discovery of a nearly-complete skeleton of a dinosaur lying on its face, which includes a left femur, backbone, ribs, hip bones, and tail bones curling over its back. This is considered the most complete dinosaur skeleton of Thailand, which was later found to be that of the Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae; it was not a fully grown-up one having the length of about 13-15 metres.
From the large number of fossils discovered in this area and from other sites in Thailand, the Sirindhorn Museum was then established in Phu Kum Khao.
Phu Kum Khao Dinosaur Excavation Site
