This was the week we have been waiting a year for! Thursday afternoon we finally removed the largest vertebra from the jacket we have been toiling on week after week.
Rick and Sara transferred this gigantic fossil over to a temporary stand and removed the field jacket from the preparology table. It is still beastly heavy, though Rick made short work of moving it from table to table.
Say goodbye to plaster and burlap! (Not to mention all that dusty matrix!)
Once the vertebra was removed, it was determined that we do have enough stability to set it upright and continue to clean the surface area. This is the side of the fossil that was face down as we worked on it but it is also the true top of the fossil insomuch as this is how it was oriented when the fossil was found.
This is a side view. The vertebra is skinnier than we expected. We can learn much about the placement of this vertebra in the skeleton from the thickness and shape.
We are incredibly thrilled to have these bones removed from the jacket and are excited to continue preparing them. Now that this jacket is fully extracted, we have room for another project. Stay tuned to see what is in store for the preparologists in the new year.
