England, a female Roman statue head discovered in a parking lot

The marble head of a Roman woman, from Saturday, March 16, 2024, displayed inside the Hell Staircase at Burghley House, a stately home near Peterborough, England, was discovered by an excavator driver in the spring of 2023, followed two weeks later by a marble bust. After being cleaned up, experts dated the sculpture to the 1st or 2nd century, and it is now on display in the mansion. It was most likely acquired by Brownlow Cecil, the ninth Earl of Exeter, during a trip to Italy in the 1760s. Such trips, known as Grand Tours, were a rite of passage for a young aristocrat of that time. It remains a puzzle, however, how the head and bust ended up buried in the park, with speculation ranging from a clumsy theft attempt to someone accidentally discarding the statue, which was then covered with soil. Moreover, it is not known how long they remained hidden underground before being discovered in late April 2023, when the new parking lot was nearly completed.

It was during the work that excavator driver Greg Crawley noticed a pale object among the raised earth that turned out to be the head. A few weeks later, the woman’s shoulders were found, although they had been carved much later than the marble head. This type of statue was in fact common in the 18th century, as the addition of modern shoulders made the ancient head more desirable to a potential buyer. Both objects were handed over to Burghley’s curator and then sent to an experienced restorer for a thorough cleaning and careful restoration, which revealed the features of a Roman lady. The find has also been reported to the British Museum. When the House reopens on March 16, 2024, the find will be on display along with other sculptures purchased by the earl, accompanied by an explanation of its discovery.

“I got a real shock when the bucket of the excavator tipped over what I thought was a large stone revealing a face. When I picked it up, I realized it was the head of a statue. 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 ancient and special-surely my best discovery ever,” said Greg Crawley.

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England, a female Roman statue head discovered in a parking lot

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