Mystery at the Museum: Tuesday 17th November

A case study on improving specimen provenance through archival research

presented by Dr Emily Swaby and Emily Chen

When a member of the public contacted the Earth Collections at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH) with a letter describing a fossil ichthyosaur whose whereabouts were unknown, it sparked an investigation across the Museum’s archive and collections. The search for this specimen led to an unexpected and remarkable discovery.
On the 17th of July 1866, the Museum’s first Keeper, Professor John Phillips, wrote to an unknown collector, stating that he would “take the Ichthyosaur as above at Ten Pounds”. The letter included a hastily drawn sketch of the fossil, offering a tantalising clue to the specimen’s identity. However, its subsequent history and present whereabouts remained unknown.

Through combining archival research with a deep dive into the Museum’s Earth Collections, we were able to identify the recipient of Phillips’s letter, establish whether the specimen had ever been sent to the Museum, and trace its present whereabouts. In doing so, we solved a 160-year-old mystery we didn’t know existed, while demonstrating the value of collaboration across museum collections and engagement with the wider public in uncovering the provenance of Museum specimens.

17th November 2026

6.30 to 7.30 pm Westwood Room, OU Museum of Natural History
All welcome – free to attend.
We would kindly ask for a voluntary donation of £5 or more (cash or card) to allow us to
continue this lecture series. This will be gratefully received.
For visitor information see https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/visit-us
The Oxford University Museum of Natural History Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW

GEOX lecture, Tuesday 15th December

Earthquakes

Details to be confirmed

15th December 2026

6.30 to 7.30 pm Westwood Room, OU Museum of Natural History
All welcome – free to attend.
We would kindly ask for a voluntary donation of £5 or more (cash or card) to allow us to
continue this lecture series. This will be gratefully received.
For visitor information see https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/visit-us
The Oxford University Museum of Natural History Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW