Archeological notes: Archaeologists in London have discovered the finest Romano-British sculpture ever unearthed in the capital. The spectacular 65 centimetre tall sculpture of a Roman eagle with a snake in its beak was found at the bottom of an ancient Roman ditch just south of Aldgate station in the eastern part of the City - and will go on show at the Museum of London from Wednesday. Originally, the eagle had almost certainly adorned either the interior or the roof of a grandiose tomb belonging to a prosperous and very important early Londoner who died in the late first or second century AD. He must have been of substantial status and influence - because he had acquired a burial plot immediately by the side of one of the main roads leading out of London, some 50 metres outside the probable city boundary. Indeed it is likely that the Roman city authorities gave him the honour of being buried on public land. That would suggest that he had been a senior political figure in Roman London - potentially one of the joint mayors (the magistrates who were appointed by the local city council to run the citys finances, oversee religious matters and act as judges). The eagle and snake imagery is likely to have reflected the mans powerful position in life. The eagle - a Roman symbol of power is seen in the sculpture fighting a snake, sometimes perceived in the Roman world as representing danger and the powers of the underworld. The eagles presence on or in the tomb may have therefore also been seen as protecting the structure and the prominent Roman interred within it....
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 07:01:33 +0000
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