1,800-year-old statue head discovered during parking lot construction

Excavator operator Greg Crawley discovered the head of a marble Roman statue of a woman on the grounds of the 16th-century Burghley House estate in Peterborough, England.

Mysterious 1,800-year-old Roman statue cleaned by experts and displayed at Burghley House, England

Two weeks later, the bust was also found near the original discovery site. The head and bust were cleaned, examined, and reassembled, dating the sculpture to the 1st or 2nd century.

Experts say an iron pin was added to the head to attach to a bust made by Italian antiques dealers in the late 18th century when selling to aristocrats traveling to Italy.

"It is believed that an Earl travelled to Italy in the 1760s and bought many antiquities and brought the sculpture back to Burghley House," the researchers said.

Earl Brownlow Cecil inherited the title in 1754 and was an avid traveller and art collector. However, the Earl's family is unsure how the head and bust came to be buried in the land when the car park was built, calling it a "complete mystery".

Greg Crawley finds ancient statue head while building car park

Those living at Burghley House noted that "explanations could range from a theft to someone simply dumping the statue and it then becoming covered in dirt".

The Crawley digger said it was "a great feeling to find something so old and special" and called the find "the most amazing find ever".

Crawley added: "I was really shocked when the digger bucket hit what I thought was a large rock and then revealed a face. I couldn't believe it when they told me it was a Roman marble statue."

The statue is now on display at Burghley House along with other statues collected by Earl Brownlow Cecil.

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