A science-loving schoolboy has accidentally discovered a nest of fossilised dinosaur eggs while playing outdoors in China.

Experts believe the 11 eggs, each about 3.5 inches long, date back some 66 million years to the late Cretaceous period just before the ancient beasts were wiped out.

The third-grade pupil said he initially saw a ‘strange stone’ in the soil, but realised it could be a dinosaur egg after checking the object closely. Experts confirmed his speculation before excavating 10 more eggs nearby.

Third-grade Zhang Yangzhe (pictured) made the extraordinary discovery while playing on the embankment of Dong River in Heyuan, southern China’s Guangdong Province, on Tuesday

Experts from the local museum were alerted to the scene and excavated a nest of 11 dinosaur eggs. They are believed to come from the late Cretaceous period about 66 million  years ago

Yangzhe, 10, had remembered the looks of a dinosaur egg after visiting the museum. He told a local reporter he believed the ‘strange stone’ was a dinosaur egg after checking it closely

The 10-year-old came across the extraordinary find on Tuesday while playing on an embankment in the city of Heyuan, Guangdong Province.

The boy, named Zhang Yangzhe, was trying to look for tools to crack open walnuts when he found what he thought was a piece of rock that ‘looked special’.

He was accompanied by his mother while playing by the Dong River.

He said at first he thought the rock had ‘circles’ on its surface.

‘Then I called my mother over, [and we] thought the shell looked like that of a dinosaur egg,’ Yangzhe told a reporter from Heyuan Radio and Television Station.

Yangzhe was accompanied by his mother (pictured with her son) while coming across the fossils. According to his mother, Li Xiaofang, Yangzhe has read many books about dinosaurs

Experts from Heyuan Dinosaur Museum found 11 dinosaur eggs which they believe formed a whole nest. Each of the eggs measures about nine centimetres (3.5 inches) in length

The eggs have been taken to Heyuan Dinosaur Museum for studies to determine the type

According to his mother, Yangzhe loves science, especially dinosaurs, and has read many books about them.

The parent, named Li Xiaofang, said her son remembered the shell pattern of dinosaur eggs after visiting a local museum to learn more about the ancient creatures.

Ms Li called the police and guarded the site with her son until authorities arrived.

Experts from Heyuan Dinosaur Museum confirmed that the ‘strange stone’ was indeed a fossilied dinosaur egg.

After excavation, they found 10 more dinosaur eggs in the soil nearby which belonged to the same nest.

Each of the eggs measures about nine centimetres (3.5 inches) in length.

Huang Dong, the former director of the Heyuan Dinosaur Museum, told Beijing News that the fossils came from the late Cretaceous period.

The eggs have been taken to Heyuan Dinosaur Museum for further studies to determine the type.

Heyuan, a city with a population of three million, is billed as China’s ‘home of dinosaurs’.

A giant clutch of 43 fossilised dinosaur eggs were discovered by workmen doing roadworks in Heyuan in 2015. The find was made in the city centre by workers laying a sewage pipe

More than 17,000 dinosaur eggs are said to have been excavated in Heyuan since 1996

A giant clutch of 43 fossilised dinosaur eggs were discovered by workmen doing roadworks in the city in 2015.

The first recorded dinosaur egg in Heyuan was found in March, 1996, by the Dong River. Since then, more than 17,000 of them have been dug out in the city.

The Heyuan Dinosaur Museum claims to have 10,008 dinosaur eggs, the largest collection of its kind in the world.