Construction Worker Uncovers Mysterious Roman Statue Buried Beneath a Parking Lot in England

Burghley House was built between 1555 and 1587 and became famous not only for its owner, Elizabeth I's advisor William Cecil, but also because it was featured in popular television shows and films including The Crown and Pride and Prejudice (2005). Is shown in. Now, the mansion is being recognized for something entirely different – the head of an ancient Roman statue has been found on the property, and no one knows how it got there.

Bust Search

The statue was discovered in 2023 during renovations at Burghley House, Lincolnshire. Construction worker Greg Crowley was digging to clear an area to make way for a new parking lot on the estate when he noticed something strange. "I got a huge shock when the excavator's bucket rolled over what I thought was a big stone with a face," he said. "When I picked it up, I realized it was the head of a statue."

The marble statue depicts the neck and face of a woman with wavy hair and neutral expression. The tip of his nose is also missing in this.

finding the second piece

While the excitement of the first discovery was still present, the second discovery was made. Just a few weeks after the head was excavated, the woman's shoulders were found. After a professional conservator cleaned and joined the two pieces, the statue revealed "the features of a beautiful Roman woman".

Interestingly, both pieces come from different time periods. The head is dated to the 1st or 2nd century, while the shoulders were found to be a much later sculpture. New York Times writer Victor Mather reported, "This type of Frankenstein statue was common in the 18th century, because the addition of modern shoulders made the ancient head more desirable to a potential buyer."

Researchers believe the statue came to life in Burghley following the visit of Brownlow Cecil, 9th Earl of Exeter, to Italy in the 1760s. Still, finding it underground came as a shock. "When they told me it was a Roman marble statue I couldn't believe it," Crowley said. "It was a wonderful feeling to find something so old and special."

Theories about how it was buried

Of course, the discovery of an ancient Roman statue in the ground raises the question, "How did the woman end up in a shallow grave 300 yards from Burghley House?" Naturally, some theories have been prevalent to explain this phenomenon. Some people believe that "someone simply threw the statue and it was later covered with soil." However, the property's curator, John Culverhouse, has his own theory.

Culverhouse believes the statue ended up in its place in the ground after an attempted theft. They believe that someone tried to steal it within a century of its arrival in Burghley. Supporting this theory is the fact that it was found near a road that leads to the merchants' entrance to the mansion, "a possible escape route for the thieves" who eventually left the statue beneath the estate. "It's overwhelming," Culverhouse said. "I can well imagine them thinking, 'We'll keep it here and come back later.'" However, there is no historical record of any attempted theft to support their claim.

How the statue came to be buried in a shallow grave a quarter of a mile from the estate is still a mystery, but it has now been returned to its home inside Burghley. It is located next to the Stairway to Hell in the property, associated with the explanation of its discovery.