On Saturday, an ancient “Roman head” found in the vicinity of a British manor house will be exhibited for the first time in public.
The treasure was discovered in late 2023 by Greg Crawley, an excavator driver who was working in the mansion's parking lot when he found it.
“It was a real surprise when the bucket of the excavator went over what I thought was a large stone to reveal a face.
When I picked it up
I realized it was the head of a statue
,” Greg told Burghley's official site.
And he added: “
I couldn't believe it when they told me it was a Roman marble statue
.
It was an incredible feeling to have found something so old and special;
definitely my best discovery.”
The marble head
The marble head is that of a Roman lady and dates back to the 1st or 2nd century AD, according to specialists.
In addition, two weeks later they also found the bust of the statue near the place where the head was buried.
To display both pieces, an iron peg was added to keep them upright.
The marble head would be from the 1st or 2nd century AD Photo: Burghley House
The head is believed to have arrived from Italy in around 1760, and while they claim it was brought into the country by the “
9th Earl
”, it is still unknown how it specifically arrived at Burghley Courtyard.
The theories are the craziest:
they range from a failed robbery to a discard with burial included
.
The exhibition
The head and torso will be displayed inside Burghley's Staircase to Hell on March 16 at the opening of the 2024 season. The antiquity will be accompanied by an explanation of its discovery.
As the Burghley site describes, the manor house where the pieces were found "is one of the largest and most majestic surviving from the 16th century and a wonderful example of the great Elizabethan wonder houses built in honor of the Queen."
Greg with his strange find.
Photo: Burghley House
William Cecil
, Lord High Treasurer of Queen Elizabeth I, conceived and built it between 1555 and 1587. "Burghley is a testament to the ambition and vision of the most powerful courtier of the early Elizabethan era," reads the site's portal. .