Rutland Set to Welcome Home Sea Dragon Fossil
Major plans unveiled to bring historic ichthyosaur to Rutland County Museum
Rutland is poised to take ownership of the famous sea dragon fossil, as Anglian Water says it is “very close” to signing over the prehistoric find to the county.
The ichthyosaur, discovered at Rutland Water in August twenty twenty-one, is the largest and most complete of its kind ever found in the UK – and has been described as a globally important discovery.
Rutland County Council has earmarked six million pounds for the project, with council leader Gale Waller telling a scrutiny committee:
“We haven’t started digitisation of the sea monster yet. We can’t do this until it is part of the museum. It’s currently owned by Anglian Water. Until they sign the agreement we can’t start the work. It’s due to be signed any day now.”
The fossil is set to be displayed at Rutland County Museum, with initial work focused on digitising the remains before a permanent exhibition is created.
Funding for the project has already been set aside in the council’s budget for twenty twenty-six and twenty twenty-seven, and council bosses are confident the handover will happen within weeks.
Although a four point nine million pound bid for National Lottery funding was unsuccessful last year, plans to bring the ichthyosaur home remain firmly on track.
The proposal also includes an extension to the museum and a digital exhibition of a Roman mosaic found at Ketton.
Rutland’s tourism industry is worth an estimated one hundred and seventy-five million pounds every year, and leaders hope the sea dragon project will attract even more visitors. Councillors are set to vote on the museum plans this week.
Ichthyosaurs were ancient marine reptiles that lived in the sea one hundred and eighty million years ago. The Rutland sea dragon is not only the biggest, but also the most complete fossil of its kind found in Britain, thrilling palaeontologists worldwide.