Home„The Discovery
August 7,2006
Longtime fossil researchers and Earth Science lovers, Tsuyoshi Adachi and Shigeru Murakami, found gray objects sticking out of the Sasayama layers.  The two  dug out parts of two rib bones.
August 8,2006
Mr. Adachi cleaned the bones at home.  After checking books and other references, he  believed them to be dinosaur fossils.
August 9,2006
Mr. Adachi and Mr. Murakami returned to the dig, and after 6 hours of further excavation, found 5 fossil pieces including two rib segments totaling 30 cm in size.  Around 3 p.m., they took the bones to the Hyogo Prefectural Human and Nature Museum in Sanda City.  They asked researcher Haruo Saegusa to examine them. Mr. Saegusa confirmed them to be dinosaur bones.  All three hurried back to the discovery location and checked how the bones were buried. Paleontologists have previously noted the high potential of fossil discovery in the Sasayama layer bed, due to the close similarity to the Tedori layer bed in the Hokuriku Region (Cretaceous Period),  location of  the biggest discovery of dinosaur fossils in Japan .
August 10,2006
Three museum staff attempted further site excavation, but determined digging by hand was too limiting.
September 27 to 29,2006
A trial dig, led by the museum took place for three days.  ten additional fossils were collected.  After cleaning,  a preliminary determination was that these fossils were bones of a grass-eating dinosaur, Titanosaur, and teeth of a Theropoda.
October 12,2006
Planning for a full scale excavation commenced with related groups.
January 3,2007
Media release by the Human and Nature Museum, announced the fossil discovery of the giant grass-eating dinosaur.
January 11,2007
The Human and Nature Museum holds a press conference at the discovery site, providing details of the find.
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Kiyoshi Adachi

He moved to Tamba City from Okayama Prefecture. During his high school teaching career. he led students on visits to the mountains and rivers in the Sasayama Basin, where he accidentally discovered fossils of water creatures.  Ever since, he was into the research of fossils, and he continued the research in the mountains with a hammer and a chisel on holidays.  He subsequently made about ten discoveries of plant and shrimp fossils. At present, he is a part-time English teacher at Hyogo Prefectural Kaibara Senior High School. 

Shigeru Murakami
He retired two year ago, returning to his home town .   After 40 years,  he renewed his aquaintence with Mr. Adachi,  a former classmate from his university days in Osaka.  Encouraged by Mr. Adachi 's statement "it is good for your health ", Mr. Murakami began fossil hunting.  On his second outing , he made "A great discovery of the century. "
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