Roman Bust Unearthed during Car Park Extension at Burghley
March 14 2024
Picture: burghley.co.uk
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Interesting news from Burghley House in Lincolnshire, that a Roman bust that was unearthed during the extension of their car park has been redisplayed in the house. The ancient marble was discovered by a digger driver who was working on the site, who swiftly brought it to the attention of curators at the property.
According to the website:
But it remains a complete mystery how the head and bust ended up buried in the park, with explanations ranging 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.
It was during work on an overflow parking area, at the edge of the main site, that digger driver Greg Crawley noticed a pale object amongst the lifted earth, which turned out to be the head. Thrilled with the discovery of the ancient artifact, to everyone’s amazement just weeks later a second discovery was made within a short distance of where the head was found, when the bust was also unearthed.
