Veteran Diggers Stumble Upon Remarkable Roman Depiction of Winged Goddess of Victory Statue During Excavation
Traces of the Roman Empire in England continue to pop up even after centuries. Another one was dug up by a pair of amateur archaeologists near Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, stated The Guardian. The discovery happened during a planned excavation at the site of the Roman fort Vindolanda.
Dilys Quinlan, 69, and Jim Quinlan, 68, were volunteers in the excavation. While exploring the site, the married couple spotted a stone relief depicting the Roman goddess of victory. The 47cm tall relief was hidden in the rubble above the site’s infantry barracks. The finding meant a lot to the couple, as they had been involved in the fort's excavation for 21 years. " As veteran diggers, it is without doubt the most wonderful thing we’ve ever done and, importantly, it’s something we do as a couple," Dilys Quinlan shared. The artefact has not been dated, but the barracks where the object was found were built in about AD213, just after the Severan wars. Researchers speculate the relief could have been built around that time.
Researchers think that the sandstone relief depicting the winged goddess could have been used to signify the end of the ancient Roman war, according to The Independent. The deity is known as Goddess Victory in English and Victoria in Latin. She is reportedly a personification of victory in Roman culture and mythology. Hence, the relief was possibly worshipped or used in any other way to celebrate the victory of the Romans in the ancient war.
The Vindolanda Trust claims that the deity was the Roman counterpart of the Greek goddess Nike. She was highly revered by the ancient Romans, and amidst war, was credited with battlefield success. These kinds of discoveries from Roman Britain are incredibly rare, according to Dr Andrew Birley, the director of excavations for the Vindolanda Trust. The expert thinks that such reliefs are a vivid reminder that these forts were not just utilitarian in purpose; the rulers filled them with pomp. The discovery is proof that the building sported several cultural symbols popular 2,000 years ago.
Dr. Birley claims that such discoveries act as links between past and present, as they provide a glimpse into the beliefs of the ancient Roman Population, according to The Guardian. "There is that sense of palpable excitement when you turn over the 2,000th piece of Roman rubble and you see on the other side the face of a goddess staring right back at you. What you get there is a direct connection. It’s almost like you’re touching the past and all those years melt away, which is just wonderful," he explained. The deity was identified by Rob Collins, a professor of Frontier Archaeology at Newcastle University.
The finding appears to have been part of a larger relief, according to The Independent. Researchers speculate that this larger relief must have exhibited an inscription in its centre. Seeing the features of the detected sandstone, experts theorized that the original relief must have been painted with bright colors. Trust’s curator, Barbara Birley, shared that the plan is to now keep the object unwashed and try to detect original pigments from it. According to authorities, if everything proceeds as per the set plan, the relief should go on display in early 2026 at the Vindolanda museum.