Nothing new under the sun! Walking over the head of Augustus allowed the Meroitic people to show their contempt. Fascinating British Museum blog with some great early archaeological photographs. Garstang and his fellow archaeologists found the head buried in the doorway to a building, which was located outside of the main city. The building was decorated with frescoes showing the king and queen enthroned, while a line of bound, kneeling slaves are presented to them. Some of these slaves have the distinctive helmets and tunics of Roman soldiers. It was therefore thought that the building may have been a victory monument, or a temple. In burying the head, the Merӧites ensured that everyone who entered the building would trample this image of the emperor Augustus beneath their feet, thereby ritually perpetuating the Merӧite victory over the Romans. Ironically, it was this act of desecration that ultimately preserved Augustus’ portrait for future generations to appreciate. blog.britishmuseum.org/2014/12/11/the-mer%D3%A7e-head-of-augustus-statue-decapitation-as-political-propaganda/
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 11:17:00 +0000
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