A year ago, the news broke on the Rutland Sea Dragon, one of the biggest paleontological finds in UK history.

The 10.5m long ichthyosaur, nicknamed the Rutland Sea Dragon was discovered by Joe Davis and Paul Trevor from Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust in February 2021. Read more here.

Excavation took place quietly following the routine draining of a lagoon in which the discovery was made.

Only in January 2022 was this discovery announced to the world, featuring on BBC Two's Digging for Britain, on Tuesday 11th January 2022 at 8pm.

This drew 2.5 million viewers, who watched with amazement. 

That number is one of the highest overnight audiences Digging For Britain had seen in its nine series.

The Sea Dragon is the biggest and most complete skeleton of its kind found to date in the UK and is also thought to be the first ichthyosaur of its species (Temnodontosaurus trigonodon) found in the country.

Look back on this amazing discovery.

Since then, Rutland Hall Hotel has hosted a Sea Dragon writing competition, and a collective of Mill Street shop and business owners commissioned a 'pavement portrait' of the creature to be undertaken by artist, Julian Beever.

The disvcery also enabled Rutland County Council to secure a grant more than £40,000 of grant funding to help plan the future of two 'incredible' archaeological and palaeontological discoveries made locally in recent months.

The second of these discoveries was the Roman mosaic in the county.

Conversations about the final resting place of the Sea Dragon are ongoing.