Romans carefully dismantled statue of emperor when they withdrew from Scotland 1,800 years ago, leaving only his foot behind
"This was a big deal for the Emperor, something which was worth celebrating." But while the boot-clad bronze leg provides a glimpse into the monuments that may have graced southern Scotland nearly two millennia ago, it raises an important question for Hunter: Where is the rest of the statue?
- All that remains of a larger-than-life statue of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius once erected in Scotland is a lower right leg.
- This lower leg, experts now believe, originally came from an equestrian statue of Emperor Antoninus Pius that was similar to the famous statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome.
- During that retreat, the Romans may have dismantled any valuable statues that they had set up, according to the statement.
Experts have now reconstructed what the entire sculpture looked like but are still unsure why it was carefully dismantled over 1,800 years ago.
It is the only example of a monumental Roman emperor statue ever found in Scotland and was likely made around A.D.
- "This really turns on its head our understanding of Rome's second attempt at conquering Scotland," Fraser Hunter, principal curator of prehistoric art and Roman archaeology at National Museums Scotland, said in the statement.
- To add to Rome's territory, Antoninus Pius directed the imperial governor of Roman Britain to move north, invade southern Scotland and build a second wall, called the Antonine Wall.
- But as research into the Roman frontier advanced over the years, it became clear that equestrian statues were often set up in forts along the border of the Roman Empire.
- Initially, experts thought the bronze statue had been looted from York, England, which was founded by the Romans in A.D.
- But that wall was left undefended after Antoninus Pius died, and the Romans retreated from Scotland.
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