6 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A Mysterious 1,800-year-old Roman Statue Unearthed During Car Park Construction Work in UK

A 1,800-year-old Roman marble statue of a woman’s head was discovered during construction in the parking lot of Burghley House near Stamford in Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom.

In April 2023, mechanical digger operator Greg Crawley discovered the head of a sculpture. He had uncovered a marble head, which experts have dated to the First or Second Century. Two weeks later the marble bust the head used to be attached to was found.

An iron dowel found in the marble head, which probably would have been added in the 18th Century, would have allowed it to be added to a bust or pedestal, experts said.

It was an adaptation often carried out by Italian antique dealers at the time to make excavated ancient relics more attractive to traveling aristocrats.

It is believed that it was during one of the ninth Earl’s two tours to Italy in the 1760s, when he purchased many antiquities, that he brought the sculpture back to Burghley.

Greg Crawley accidentally discovered a “mysterious” 1,800-year-old Roman statue while using a digger during parking lot construction in the United Kingdom, according to Burghley House officials. Photo: Burghley House
Greg Crawley accidentally discovered a “mysterious” 1,800-year-old Roman statue while using a digger during parking lot construction in the United Kingdom, according to Burghley House officials. Photo: Burghley House

The statue depicts “the features of a beautiful Roman lady,” officials said.

The house said it remained “a mystery” as to how the bust and marble head became buried. Explanations range from a bungled burglary to someone simply discarding the statue and it later being covered by soil.

It is also unclear how long it has remained hidden underground before being discovered in late April 2023 when the new car park was nearly complete.

Both items were immediately taken to Burghley’s Curator before being sent to a professional conservator who was able to carefully clean and consolidate the figure, revealing the features of a beautiful Roman lady, before reassembling both pieces as they had been intended.  The find was reported to the British Museum before they were reconstructed.

Additionally, the amazing discovery will be on display along with a description of its discovery and other sculptures that the ninth Earl bought when the House reopens for the 2024 season on March 16.

Cover Photo: Burghley House

Related Articles

This Month in the “You Will See What You Don’t See” Project

11 February 2021

11 February 2021

Izmir Archeology Museum started to exhibit the unseen artifacts in its warehouses last month in the project that started under...

Artifacts found in Japan could be prototypes of ninja weapons

14 January 2022

14 January 2022

Artifacts discovered in the ruins of structures associated with warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s 1590 Siege of Odawara may be prototypes of...

The world’s oldest wine discovered in liquid form was found in a Roman tomb in Spain

18 June 2024

18 June 2024

Archaeologists discovered an urn with a reddish liquid in a family mausoleum dating to the 1st century AD in the...

Red lipstick dating back 3,600 years was discovered in Iran -the oldest ever found-

14 February 2024

14 February 2024

Archaeologists have discovered a small chlorite vial containing a deep red cosmetic preparation believed to be an ancient type of...

Unlocking the Secrets of Jersey’s Le Câtillon II: A Celtic Settlement Discovered Near the Enigmatic Hoard

12 March 2025

12 March 2025

Recent archaeological investigations near Jersey, an island in the English Channel situated just off the coast of France, have unveiled...

The University of Aberdeen is to Return a Benin Bronze

5 April 2021

5 April 2021

Since Nigeria gained independence in 1960, Nigeria has been calling for the return of stolen Benin bronzes (including brass reliefs,...

490-Million-Year-Old Trilobites Could Solve Ancient Geography Puzzle

22 November 2023

22 November 2023

The humble trilobites may be extinct, but even as fossils, they can teach us much about our planet’s history. Indeed,...

Remains of 2 houses belonging to the founding period of the city were unearthed in the ancient city of Hierapolis

5 November 2021

5 November 2021

During this year’s excavations in the ancient city of Hierapolis-Pamukkale in Turkey’s Aegean province Denizli, the remains of two houses...

1,600-year-old steelyard weight found in Turkey’s ancient city of Hadrianopolis

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

Archeologists have discovered a 1,600-year-old steelyard weight during excavations in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis, located in the Eskipazar district...

A well-preserved comb discovered in a 4th-century rare Alemannic chamber grave in Germany

4 September 2024

4 September 2024

During a rescue excavation in the center of the village of Gerstetten, located in the Heidenheim district of southwestern Germany,...

A large stone monument depicting the goddess Ishtar has been unearthed in the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud

26 June 2023

26 June 2023

Archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, working with an Iraqi excavation team, have unearthed a...

At a dig site in western Turkey, a centuries-old Byzantine fortress will be revealed

24 December 2021

24 December 2021

Excavation of vast Byzantine-era fortifications considered to be about 900 years old has begun at a dig site in western...

New study investigates the development of the Scandinavian gene pool over the latest 2000 years

5 January 2023

5 January 2023

A new study resolves the complex relations between geography, ancestry, and gene flow in Scandinavia – encompassing the Roman Age,...

Arkeologists decipher hieroglyphics of a vessel found in the archaeological rescue of the Mayan Train

16 May 2022

16 May 2022

Based on the analysis of eleven glyphic cartouches inscribed into a ceramic pot, discovered in October 2021 during archaeological rescue...

2000-year-old Ancient Greek ‘graduate school yearbook’ carved in stone found

5 June 2022

5 June 2022

Historians have discovered that an ancient Greek inscription on a marble slab in the collection of the National Museums of...