Piece of UK's largest Stegosaur fossil returning ‘home'
A piece of a dinosaur discovered in Swindon has found a new home in the local museum and art gallery.
Back in 1874, archaeologists uncovered original fossil remains in the clay pits of Swindon Brick and Tile Company which were sent to Natural History Museum director Richard Owen and became the first example of a stegosaurus to be named and described by scientists.
While a large part of the herbivorous 'Dacentrurus' dinosaur is currently on display in that London museum, , other smaller parts were taken away by private fossils hunters and dispersed into other collections.
The team at Swindon's council-run museum, which is now based at the Civic Offices on Euclid Street, has recently acquired a vertebra bone which is believed to be from that prehistoric skeleton and was found for sale online by local fossil hunters Dr Neville and Sally Hollingworth.
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Sally and Neville have been working alongside volunteers and staff at Museum & Art Swindon on identifying parts of the museum's fossil collection through the Arts Council England-funded 'Unlocking Collections' project, and alerted staff to the fossil.
The pair said: 'We saw this specimen for sale and realised its importance straight away.
'When the Swindon Stegosaur was collected in the 19th Century some of the original material ended up in private collections and we instantly recognised that the vertebra offered for sale had come from the original site where the skeleton was found.
'We're delighted that Museum & Art Swindon has put this truly unique find from the town on display and, hopefully, this will help raise awareness about the town's Jurassic past.'
The Brick and Tile Company site is now occupied by Halford's and The Range in Fleming Way and the green space at Spring Gardens.
Cllr Marina Strinkovsky, Cabinet member for Placemaking and Planning, said: 'Swindon was really important in the history of palaeontology and loads of important fossil hunters lived here or visited Swindon in the late 19th Century to look for specimens.
'The stegosaur ignites the imagination of Swindonians of all ages, and it's fantastic that a piece of it is coming home.
'I recently saw the stegosaur fossil in the Natural History Museum in London - it's great to see Swindon represented in one of the capital's most popular tourist destinations.'
The stegosaur vertebra can be seen now at the museum's Swindon Rocks gallery. Later in the year, the vertebra will form part of the Arts Council England supported Fossil Hunters exhibition.
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