A team from the Museum of Palaeontology unearthed the partial skeletons of seven animals, about 150 bones in total, all in remarkable condition.
When the scientists realised the dimensions of their discovery a film crew from the BBC Natural History Unit arrived to capture the moment. This is the proof I was waiting for.
Scientists believe the new dinosaur is a new species of titanosaur—an enormous herbivore dating from the Late Cretaceous period—a type of sauropod similar to the Argentinosaurus.
"Given the size of these bones, which surpass any of the previously known giant animals, the new dinosaur is the largest animal known that walked on Earth," the researchers told BBC News.
This, as yet unnamed, giant herbivore lived in the forests of Patagonia between 95 and 100 million years ago, based on the age of the rocks in which its bones were found.
Based on fragmentary specimens, the animal's proportions and overall shape are conjectural. But it is believed to be 40m long from head to the tail tip. Standing with its neck up, it could be about 20m high, equal to a seven-storey building. They judged the weight to be 77 tonnes, it was as heavy as 14 African elephants, and seven tonnes heavier than the previous record holder, Argentinosaurus.
Some people look at such photos and remember Biblical claims of giants. We read in Genesis 6:4, that before Noah's Flood "there were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men, who were of old, men of renown."
However, the photographs in question have been shown to be fake—the product of a competition for digital photographers who were trying to create an archaeological hoax. The competition’s photos were then used as the basis for a widespread Internet hoax.
In real life, "The Irish Giant" Charles Byrne (1761–1783) was a man regarded as a curiosity or freak in London society in the 1780s. Byrne's exact height is of some conjecture. Some accounts refer to him as from 2.48 m (8 ft 2 in) to 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in) tall; however, skeletal evidence places him at just over 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in). His skeleton now resides in the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons in London.
I'll put my faith in renown palaeontologists and groups of diggers from museums. The unnamed new giant dinosaur comes with top credentials.