Re: Lava and dinosaurs

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

David Krentz wrote:
> 
>   Thankd you all  for your answers.  I'll spill the beans on what prompted 
> such
> a question (dinosaur in lava..what happens to it).  I'm working on a sculpture
> and it might be a nice touch to incorperate a triceratops head half sticking
> out of some cooled lava on the base.  Would the lava even leave any remenants
> of the of the non- buried portion of the skull, especially those robust horns?

I suspect anything organic would be completely carbonised and destroyed,
including anything within a few metres of the actual flow. If the lava continued
to flow (as it would for some time after organic remains had been destroyed)
then any remaining carbon "stain" (which I doubt there would even be that) would
get smeared by the movement of the lava.

>   By the way, It would  be great to find a Pompeii like graveyard of dinosaurs
> as many of you suggested.  It would be fantastic to fill in the "moulds"
> created by ash and see what kind of castings come out!
> David Krentz

Ash deposits of that age would have been squashed flat by overlying deposits, so
you wouldn't get any hollow spaces.

-- 
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        Dann Pigdon
        GIS Archaeologist
        Melbourne, Australia

        Australian Dinosaurs:
        http://www.alphalink.com.au/~dannj
        http://www.geocities.com/dannj.geo
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