Extra funding will help keep ancient 'Sea Dragon' and Roman mosaic finds in Rutland
There are hopes that the discoveries will be on display in the next few years
Last updated 1st Feb 2022
Funding secured for Rutland's incredible Roman mosaic and ichthyosaur finds will help protect the discoveries so that they can stay in the county.
The funding, which was announced last week, is vital for making sure they can be properly maintained, especially when considering one of the finds had been fossilised underneath Rutland water for over 180 million years.
Rutland County Council portfolio holder for culture and heritage, Lucy Stephenson, told Greatest Hits Radio that the mosaic and Ichthyosaur only enhance the county more:
"Ultimately what we would really like is to be able to display these amazing discoveries in Rutland, for Rutland people to enjoy, but also to attract other people to come to our county and enjoy all that we have to offer."
She added that the funding and expert attention was key in properly unearthing both historic discoveries:
“Historic England invested 50,000 for the careful excavation and protection of the mosaic and its also now a scheduled monument to protect it from people doing something daft, shall we say.
“When you’re dealing with two things that are so fragile and delicate, not least because of their age, obviously you need very, very careful exploration and excavation, you also need people that really know what they’re doing.
Fortunately we've got Leicester University fairly nearby with a lot of experts there, who said 'yep, it’s definitely a fossil', and as they carried on excavating it basically got longer and longer, so a sort of 30 foot ichthyosaur.”