A tiny figurine unearthed in Cambridge shire has provided a rare insight into the popular fashion of the Roman-era Briton. Many may have worn a clipped mustache and neat mullet.
The little copper alloy statue, almost two inches tall, was first discovered in 2018 during excavation work on the National Trust’s Wimpole Estate, a site which has been continuously inhabited and farmed more than 2,000 years.
Archaeologists are still not sure if the figure, which dates back to the first century AD, is Roman or Celtic, but theories include that he could be a Celtic deity that has no recorded likeness. Shannon Hogan, a National Trust Archaeologist for the East of England and her team believes that the find is significant because it is still relatively rare to find objects that provide an insight into how local people saw themselves in Roman Britain.
The figure, which dates back to the 1st century AD, was one of 300 objects unearthed by archeologists on the planned site of a new visitor center. The site offers a rich record of the evolving use of the land, from livestock and agricultural production, to a Roman settlement that may have functioned as a center of bustling trade network. Among the items uncovered are coins, Roman military fittings, brooches, and iron nails.
Chris Thatcher said the figure offers a look into the “aesthetics and symbolism” of the age and that he is thought to be someone of influence and power because of the way he was depicted and the fact he is holding a torque, an open-ended metal neck ring which is a symbol of status.