Iggy goes back on display at Maidstone Museum after 10 years.
This week ‘Iggy’ the cast of the Iguanodon found in Maidstone, goes back on display at Maidstone Museum after many years.
In 1834, during the excavation of a quarry in the Queen’s Road area of Maidstone, a fossil bone was uncovered which appeared to be from an animal of tremendous size. After further investigation, by quarry owner Mr WH Bensted, it was found that this bone was one piece of a partial skeleton. A skeleton of an Iguanodon.
The find was internationally significant as it helped to work out how the bones of an iguanodon fitted together. It was so significant a find that the discovery even made its way onto the coat of arms of Maidstone.
The cast on display shows how the bones were arranged when they were discovered.
Interpretation Manager, Amy Adams, says “It is so fantastic to finally have ‘Iggy’ back on display at the museum. His story is so significant to the history of Maidstone and the history of palaeontology that it just had to be included in the displays at Maidstone Museum.”
Iggy is on display from 27th May in the Kent Earth Heritage Gallery at Maidstone Museum and forms part of the permanent display.
