Throwback to April 12 1878, on this day 140 years ago, when this historical telegram is sent to our Museum: “Major discovery bones in fault Bernissart coal mine STOP Pyrite deterioration STOP Send Depauw to arrive Mons station tomorrow 8 AM STOP Will be there STOP Urgent STOP Gustave Arnaut (Arnauld)”. On Saturday, April 13, our preparateur Louis De Pauw goes 322 metres down into the Saint Barbe pit, together with chief engineer Gustave Arnould, mine manager Gustave Fagès and engineer Léon Latinis. Soon they find new fossils and even an entire foot. They decide to return the fossils to the surface, but once there, they start to break down. De Pauw understands what is happening: fossils contain a large amount of pyrite, that in contact with air starts to grow and literally blows the bone around. Self-assured, De Pauw porposes a deal to Fagès: if the Bernissart Mine donates the fossils to the Belgian State, and thus de facto to the Royal Museum of Natural History, he will supervise the excavation and preparation works of the fossils, and guarantee their perfect preservation. It was the start start of three exciting years of excavation and the discovery of around thirty dinosaur skeletons, Iguanodons and at least one Mantellisaurus, many almost intact. They're still the stars of our Museum.