New family-friendly exhibition reveals the secrets ‘Hidden in Stone’ from Jurassic seas to early humans
A University of Portsmouth palaeontologist has contributed to a local exhibition exploring 200 million years of the South of England's natural history, showcasing rare fossils and life-sized reconstructions, alongside new research.
Dr Roy Smith has shared specimens and research, including work linked to the recent discovery and description of Novaculadon, a newly identified mammal from Dorset that lived alongside dinosaurs around 145 million years ago.
The exhibition Hidden in Stone is currently on at Portsmouth Natural History Museum (Cumberland House, Southsea). It takes visitors on a journey from the age of the dinosaurs to the arrival of early humans through fossils, artefacts, museum specimens, replicas, life-size models and palaeoart.
Dr Roy Smith from the University of Portsmouth and Dr Neil Gostling from the University of Southampton
Told in five stories - Jurassic Seas, Dinosaurs Roam, Chalk Seas, Tropical Hampshire and Frozen Britain, the exhibition features dozens of specimens from Lyme Regis in the west, across the Isle of Wight to Hastings in the east, and north into Hampshire.
Dr Smith is a lecturer in vertebrate palaeontology from the University’s School of the Environment and Life Sciences. He said: "It's fantastic to be part of an exhibition that brings together organisations from across the south coast to tell such an important story.
“Hopefully the exhibition will invigorate the residents of Portsmouth with a curiosity for the remains of the past on their doorstep, from Neanderthal stone tools to dinosaur bones.
“Portsmouth has one of the most vibrant palaeontology courses in the country, and it’s great that we have the opportunity to showcase discoveries made by our students, in our home city.”
The exhibition includes skulls of herbivorous iguanodontids, and carnivorous spinosaurs, alongside casts of ichthyosaursand pterosaurs. It also features a mammoth tooth and early human artefacts such as flints hand axes, along with dozens of other specimens including shark teeth, sea urchins, ammonites and a recently described mammal from the Cretaceous of Dorset.
Dr Neil Gostling, associate professor in evolution and palaeobiology at the University of Southampton, is leading the exhibition. He said: “We know that children love dinosaurs, so it is really exciting to help them imagine what their local area would have been like millions of years ago and hopefully spark their curiosity to engage with science at school and beyond.”
The exhibition runs until 13 September 2026. For more information visit Portsmouth Natural History Museum
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