The colossal sea dragon fossil discovered at Rutland Water could be a 'life raft' to the county council and the area's tourism industry, a meeting has heard. 

The 10 metre long ichthyosaur was found in August 2021 during routine maintenance work and has excited palaeontologists around the world. 

The 180-million-year-old specimen has been kept in plaster of paris since its discovery and is due to undergo conservation and digitisation before going on display. 

As part of a wider levelling up funding package last summer Rutland County Council received £2m towards the costs and at the scrutiny meeting on Thursday (December 19), the council's director of place Penny Sharp gave a long-awaited update on the digital project, which also includes another historically important lockdown find – the Ketton Roman mosaic. 

The ichthyosaur fossil was found at Rutland Water in August 2021 (Photo: Discover Rutland)

The director also hinted that plans about a 'very special' tourism project will be unveiled in February. 

She said while everything needed for the digitisation of the Roman Villa is in place, as this was secured during the initial excavation, the project relating to the ancient 10 metre long fossil has been more challenging. 

She said: "We have to conserve the fossil in order to digitise it and the conservation is the most expensive part of this project. It is in the order of £800,000.  

"Rightly, the cabinet and programme exec were really concerned about making that financial commitment without the security of understanding that we would ultimately be in a position to be able to display the sea dragon and secure its future. 

"As we have worked through this project what became apparent was the ichthyosaur had to come into an accredited museum collection in order for any research paper to be published on the back of the conservation. It is a niche area – there are about two people in the country who can do this conservation and their interest is about being able to publish academic papers on the back of that. 

"The sea dragon is owned by Anglian Water, so we have had to look to develop a legal arrangement with Anglian Water, whereby the county council will acquire the sea dragon into our museum collection. That will enable us to award the conservation contract to then enable the conservation and digitisation." 

The ichthyosaur fossil is twice the size of the previous largest on display at York Museum (Photo: Discover Rutland)

She said the legal talks had slowed down the process, but it was important to minimise the 'financial exposure' of having the historic asset in its museum collection. She said once a report had been to cabinet in February, the conservation process could begin and the authority had received advice from the Natural History Museum about the best course of action. 

Asked by Cllr Rosemary Powell (Independent) what had to be in place by the funding deadline of March 2026, the director said the digitisation had to have been started. 

She said: "As soon as we are in a position to be able to commit the investment of public funds we will be able to digitise as they go along. It is a ten metre long specimen, so it is going to take some time. There will be a story we are able to share and promote throughout the conservation process, as well as the ultimate end outcome." 

Cllr Raymond Payne (Lib Dem), who was chairing the meeting said: "We are very much the custodians of a national treasure and I can very well understand the number of conversations as I can just imagine the number of groups who would be looking on in horror if anything goes wrong and we don't want anything to go wrong." 

The meeting heard the fossil is twice the size of the largest other icysthysaur on public display, which is in York museum.  

Cllr Steve McRobb asked a question on behalf of his Labour colleague Ramsay Ross, (who was unable to attend the meeting) about his concerns about a current review to reduce the county's tourism budget. 

Ms Sharp said the levelling up funding had allowed the council to make 'transformational' change and without it, they would have been looking at reducing the heritage service. But modelling had suggested the lockdown heritage finds could 'significantly' increase visitor numbers  and footfall. A report about new capital investment for tourism would go to the cabinet in February. 

Council leader Gale Waller (Lib Dem) said: "We are going to have something here that is of national, if not international, significance and it will be a draw, unless we don't tell people about it, but I think we will tell people about it. And certainly the Discover Rutland community are very positive about this being part of the draw for Rutland. 

"I think that is the real reason for doing this – that it will help the tourist economy." 

Cllr McRobb said: "Perhaps the sea dragon is more of a life raft."  

Updates on the other Rutland levelling up fund projects, the mobi-transport hub close to Rutland Memorial Hospital in Oakham and the new medi hub which will be based at Oakham Enterprise Park were given. A revised planning application for the transport hub will be decided in January and discussions are ongoing with a company so that the new medi hub can provide both health services and research and development.