DinoDawn Expedition

Plaster field jackets holding fossil blocks, laid out on red Algarve ground and seen from above, with team members lying among them.

Seasons 2024 and 2025

DinoDawn Field Photos

Expedition photographer Marc Bryan-Brown and the field team took these photographs in the 2024 and 2025 seasons. New photographs from 2026 appear here from October 17.

2 Seasons in the Red Hills of the Algarve

The 2024 photographs follow the first survey of the red sandstone of the Algarve interior. The 2025 photographs follow the excavation, as the team cut blocks of bone-bearing rock from an Algarve bonebed, carried them out in plaster and sieved the sediment for small fossils. The excavator in some photos cleared rock once, in 2025.

Rock hammer and brush lying on red Algarve soil at the dig
The basic kit: a rock hammer and a brush
Weathered red sandstone outcrop under a blue sky
Weathered red sandstone, layer upon layer
Layered red rock in a roadside cut, the base marked in yellow
A road cut slices through the layers, with the lowest bed marked in yellow
Red cliffs and sea stacks on the Algarve coast
Red cliffs where the Algarve meets the Atlantic
Team members wrapping a fossil block in a plaster jacket
Wrapping a fossil block in plaster for the trip out
Eroded red hillside with pale bands of Triassic rock
Rain has carved these red hills into gullies, exposing pale bands of rock
Close view of a rounded nodule in coarse Algarve rock
A rounded nodule in coarse rock
Finger pointing to a small find in red stony ground
A small find spotted among the stones
Team member in a hard hat working close to the rock face
Nose to the rock face, hard hat on
Team member breaking rock beside a line of plaster jackets
Pickaxe work beside a line of jacketed blocks
Field team in hard hats and safety vests walking up the dig slope
The team heads up to the dig
Team member taking notes at a layered rock outcrop
Recording the rock layers before anything is moved
Team members searching the surface of a red hillside
Fanning out to search a hillside, step by step
Tall cliff of layered rock with team members at its base
A cliff of layered rock dwarfs the people at its base
4 team members smiling in the hills during fieldwork
4 team members with rock hammers on a green hillside
Team members working on a red slope above a plaster jacket
A finished jacket waits at the foot of the slope
Expedition members on a trail in the green Algarve hills
On the trail through the green Algarve hills
Field team celebrating around the excavator at the dig
The crew in hard hats and vests at the excavator
View of the dig slope from inside the team van
The view from the van: the dig slope, already busy
Team members digging and sieving red sediment on a slope
Digging and sieving red sediment on the slope
Team members in safety vests at the edge of the dig
Lab vests on, ready for work
Expedition member on a dirt road beside a grassy slope
Logging the location of a find
Team members climbing a steep slope above a parked van
Climbing to the outcrop from the track
Field supplies packed in the back of the team van
The van doubles as the field store
Gloved hand holding a piece of red fossil-bearing rock
A piece of red rock that may hold bone
Close view of a fossil fragment in pale rock held in hand
A pale fossil fragment, still in its rock
Team members working along a line of plaster jackets on red rock
2 team members crouch over a block in the red slope
Team members smiling on the bus to the field site
Early start: on the bus to the field
Pieces of split red rock on a table
Freshly split rock, opened like a book
Small beetle resting on a team member's hand
A small visitor lands on the dig
Team member writing field notes on a red rock slope
Field notes, written where the rock is
Team members sorting sieved red sediment in a metal tray
Sorting sieved sediment for the tiniest fossils
Team members discussing the site, one holding a clipboard
Planning the day at the site
3 team members smiling on the dig slope
3 team members in rain jackets on the hillside
Expedition member in conversation at the field site
Talking through the day’s finds
Boot beside mottled red and grey rock at the outcrop
Mottled red and grey rock at the outcrop
Team members on a hillside overlooking the Algarve countryside
Looking out over the Algarve countryside from the dig
Excavator clearing a red slope beside plaster-jacketed blocks
Clearing the overburden so hand work can begin
2 team members examining the red rock face
2 team members scan the rock face
Expedition member explaining the site in the field
Explaining how the layers were laid down
Team member standing beside a low roadside rock cut
Sizing up a low rock cut by the road
Team member in a hard hat watching the excavator at work
Watching the excavator from a safe distance
Team members brushing and inspecting rock at the base of the slope
Brushing and checking the rock at the foot of the slope
Team members gathered on a hillside reviewing notes
A huddle on the hillside to compare notes
Excavator on a dirt track below the dig
The excavator rolls in along the track
Expedition member holding a camera in the field
Flying the drone over the site
Team members preparing a plaster jacket on the slope
Preparing a plaster jacket
Excavator working at the end of a valley track
Heading up the valley track toward the dig
Team members preparing gear at the open van door
Gearing up at the van door
Team members mixing plaster in a bucket for field jackets
Mixing plaster in a bucket for the field jackets
Team members walking the dig slope under a bright sky
Crossing between dig spots
Finger pointing to fragments in stony ground
Fragments scattered in the stony ground
Team members splitting rock with hammers on a red slope
Splitting rock with hammers on the red slope
Excavator bucket beside plaster-wrapped fossil blocks
Fossil blocks wrapped in plaster, ready to leave the hill
Team member in a helmet holding a rock and smiling
A team member in a helmet holds up a block on the red track
Field team at dinner together after a day at the dig
Dinner after a day at the dig
Expedition members sharing a meal around a long table
Dinner under the beams of a small restaurant
Close view of red rock with a curved fossil impression
A curved impression in the red rock
Team member in a helmet inspecting a rock with a hand lens
Checking a rock for any sign of bone
Portrait of a team member in the field
A break on the hillside
Team member with a rock hammer and field notes at an outcrop
Rock hammer and field notes at the outcrop
Team members gathered outside a village building
Meeting in the village before heading out
Expedition members at a long table in a restaurant
The full group in a stone-walled dining room
Team members looking closely at the rock surface
Eyes down, searching the rock surface
2 pieces of split red rock held up for a closer look
Split rock held up to the light
Team members in safety vests on a road between red slopes
Walking the road between the red slopes
Team member in a helmet studying a rock sample
Studying a loose block, helmet on
3 expedition members in a village street
Expedition members in the village
Aerial view of team members along a red rock slope and dirt road
From above: the team along the slope and the dirt road
Team members uncovering rock by hand at the dig
Uncovering rock by hand
Expedition members examining finds in trays indoors
Back indoors, the finds are checked in trays
Team member breaking rock beside plaster jackets
Pink paint marks on the rock, with a pickaxe at work
Coastal sandstone formations above the Atlantic
Wind-carved sandstone above the Atlantic
Algarve village seen from a grassy hillside
An Algarve village seen from the hills
Team member in safety glasses and ear protection, laughing
Safety glasses and ear protection, pushed up for a break
Team member in a hard hat looking at a find in hand
A small find in hand
Safety vest of the Sociedade de História Natural paleontology lab
The vest of the Sociedade de História Natural paleontology lab
Rock surface beside a black and white scale bar
A scale bar gives every find its true size in photos
Team members recording finds at a table
Recording the day’s finds at the table
Team members filling sample bags on a hillside
Bagging samples on the hillside
Team members working along a slope marked with plaster jackets
Rock hammer work higher up
Team member in a helmet and safety vest smiling
Ready for another field day
Team member in a helmet looking closely at a rock
Sitting down with a block to inspect it
Team members working beside plaster jackets on red rock
3 team members at the cutting line
Red rock in the foreground with the team in the distance
The team, small against the red rock
2 expedition members smiling beside the packed van
2 team members at the van, loaded with field gear
2 expedition members outside a village house
A stop in a village on the way to the field
Team members prospecting on a stony hilltop
Searching a stony hilltop for exposed fossils
Field team climbing the slope beside the excavator
The team climbs the slope beside the excavator
Team members working on a hillside against the sun
The crew on a steep hillside
Team member on a steep slope of broken red rock
A steep slope of broken red rock
Expedition members at lunch together
Back at the stone-walled restaurant
Team members reviewing notes inside the van
Notes and maps spread out in the van
Team member digging into a red slope with a pickaxe
Digging into the red slope with a pickaxe
Team members working above plaster-jacketed blocks
Sawing a block free
Portrait of a smiling team member in the field
A portrait at the dig
Team members relaxing at dinner
Late dinner, phones out
Silves castle, built of the same red sandstone as the dig
Silves castle, built of the same red sandstone as the dig
Team member searching red ground by hand
Searching red ground by hand
Team members working beside plaster jackets on the slope
A rock saw cuts around a block, with a water sprayer on hand
Close view of a pale green rock sample in hand
A pale green rock sample in hand
Team member in work gloves examining the ground
Gloves on, eyes on the ground
Rock fragments among wildflowers on the hillside
Rock fragments among the hillside wildflowers
Team members scraping a red slope with long hoes
Scraping the slope with long hoes to expose fresh rock
Team members working the slope against a bright sky
3 team members bent over the rock
2 team members smiling in the car
Driving home after dark
Close view of a dark fossil fragment in pale rock held in hand
A dark fossil fragment in pale rock
Team member walking a dirt track below the slopes
Walking the dirt track below the slopes
2 team members discussing the site on a hillside
Discussing where to search next
Team member examining a small find with a hand lens
Checking a find with a hand lens
Field team working across a broad red slope
The team spread across a broad red slope
Team member resting on a red slope above green hills
A moment of rest above the green hills
Finger pointing to a small fragment in red rock
A small fragment in the red rock
Hand indicating a curved feature in red rock
A finger points to a curved shape in the rock
Team members searching a stony hillside
Searching a stony hillside together
Team member climbing a steep red slope
Climbing a steep red slope
Team member in a hard hat holding a small find
A tiny find on a fingertip
Dark fossil fragment exposed in grey rock beside a tool
A dark fossil fragment in grey rock, beside a tool for scale
Team member splitting a rock with a hammer at their feet
Splitting a rock with a hammer, right where it was found