A giant sea creature from the Age of Dinosaurs once swam in the shallow seas that would become Melton Mowbray. As part of the preparations for a new bypass road in Leicestershire, excavations have unveiled over 100 million years of history.
The North and East sections of the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road, stretching 4.3 miles, are set to alleviate traffic in the town once completed. However, before laying the road’s surface, teams from Galliford Try, contracted by Leicestershire County Council, have been digging into the area’s past.
Since 2023, the excavation teams have explored 11 sites, revealing a “long history of human activity” deemed important for both local and regional historical understanding.
The earliest finds include fossilized remnants of an ichthyosaur skull, an extinct marine reptile from at least 100 million years ago, dating back to the Early Cretaceous during the Mesozoic Era—also known as the Age of Dinosaurs. These sea predators were warm-blooded and air-breathing, somewhat reminiscent of modern dolphins, reaching lengths of up to 25 meters.
Interestingly, ichthyosaur remains are typically found along coastlines but discovering them inland is rarer. While a similar find occurred in Rutland in 2021, the Melton area’s significance has now been spotlighted. Additionally, artifacts indicating human habitation date back about 8,000 years to the Middle Stone Age, a time when people were primarily nomadic hunter-gatherers using stone tools for survival.
Archaeologists have uncovered hundreds of flint tools, including scrapers, piercers, and arrowheads, believed to be linked to ancient hunters in a nearby river channel. Pits dating back around 5,000 years suggest these were some of the first short-term settlements in the region, alongside human burials from the Early Bronze Age approximately 3,500 years ago.
Despite these early indications, substantial long-term settlement in north Leicestershire did not occur until the first century BC and AD, resulting in the establishment of four settlements. Discoveries of Iron Age pottery, animal bones, and burnt stones reflect the agricultural practices of the time. Archaeological evidence suggests that mixed farming took place at these early farmsteads, highlighting a possible transition toward market town development fueled by crop surplus.
As excavations unfolded, archaeologists also identified structures typical of Iron Age farming communities, including the remains of horses that were integral for the region’s first farmers.
The development of the bypass road, while promising, has incurred higher costs than initially anticipated, with archaeological work contributing to the overspend. Since planning began in 2017 and the main construction kicked off in May 2023, the project’s budget has required adjustments, now potentially exceeding an additional £6 million beyond the already reserve amount.
The council is actively collaborating with contractors to manage costs while aiming for a late 2026 opening for public access. For more updates, you can follow BBC Leicester on social media or reach out with story ideas via their contact channels.
