Paleontologists from China and Greece finished protecting a cluster of dinosaur footprints in northern Beijing on Tuesday by putting a waterproof surface over the 185 fossils.

It is the first time such a large group of footprint fossils have been preserved since the first dinosaur footprint was found in 2011 in Yanqing district.

The fossils, scattered across a 1,600 square meter slope, faced the risk of weather damage if no protective measures were taken, said Zeng Guangge, director of the geological relics protection department at the Yanqing UNESCO Global Geopark, a geology park where the dinosaur footprints were unearthed.

At the invitation of Zhang Jianping, an expert from China University of Geosciences who found the fossils, six Greek experts came to work with eight Chinese teachers and students from the university between Oct 12 and 16.