An 1,800-year-old carved stone head of what is believed to be a Roman god has been unearthed¹ in an ancient rubbish dump. Archaeologists made the discovery at Binchester Roman Fort, near Bishop² Auckland, in County Durham.

 

First year Durham University archaeology³（考古学） student Alex Kirton found the artefact（人工制品）, which measures about 20cm by 10cm, in buried late Roman rubbish within what was probably a bath house.

 

The sandstone head, which dates from the 2nd or 3rd century AD, has been likened to the Celtic deity⁴ Antenociticus, thought to have been worshipped as a source of inspiration and intercession（调解，仲裁） in military affairs.

 

A similar sandstone head, complete with an inscription⁵ identifying it as Antenociticus, was found at Benwell, in Newcastle upon Tyne, in 1862.

 

Dr David Petts, Lecturer in Archaeology at Durham University, said: "We found the Binchester head close to where a small Roman altar was found two years ago. We think it may have been associated with a small shrine⁶ in the bath house and dumped after the building fell out of use, probably in the 4th century AD.

 

"It is probably the head of a Roman god -- we can't be sure of his name, but it does have similarities to the head of Antenociticus found at Benwell in the 19th century.

 

"We may never know the true identity of this new head, but we are continuing to explore the building from which it came to help us improve our understanding of late Roman life at Binchester and the Roman Empire's northern frontier in Northern England.

 

"Antenociticus is one of a number of gods known only from the northern frontier, a region which seems to have had a number of its own deities⁷.

 

"It's also an excellent insight into the life and beliefs of the civilians⁸ living close to the Roman fort. The style is a combination of classical Roman art and more regional Romano-British traditions. It shows the population of the settlement taking classical artistic⁹ traditions and making them their own."

 

Alex, 19, from Bishop's Stortford, in Hertfordshire, said: "As an archaeology student this is one of the best things and most exciting things that could have happened."

 

He added: "It was an incredible thing to find in a lump of soil in the middle of nowhere -- I've never found anything remotely exciting as this."

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