The earliest wooden figure of the Roman period was discovered

WithAt first, in July last year, archaeologists thought they had only seen one piece of wood. Later they found a carved human figure in a water-soaked abyss, which was identified as an important discovery from early Romano-British times. The more you look at the sculpture, which is sixty-seven centimeters high and eighteen centimeters wide, the more it will emerge. The head may form hair or a cap that even the nose and eye sockets are slightly turned to the left. The figure wears a tunic-like blouse that ends above the knees. The pottery found in the same trench dates to between 43 and 70 AD. The carbon analysis of a piece is intended to show whether the wood figure came from the same period.

Archaeologists are still struggling to gather enough evidence before reaching the final conclusions about the whereabouts of the victim. The discovery was made in the Dwyford area of ​​Buckinghamshire, sixty kilometers west of London, because works of art of this era made of organic materials are seldom found. In this condition, the tree survives due to lack of oxygen in the wet earth. Since the discovery of the “Dagenham Statue” on the north bank of the Thames over a hundred years ago, no anthropological wooden figure of the late Stone Age has been found comparable.

This figure is one of several findings that have come to light since 2018 regarding the construction of a new high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham. Just days ago a missing Roman trading town with a ten meter wide road was discovered at the site of a former sewer field near Leicester in central England. Wells, workshops, kilns and foundries, as well as more than three hundred Roman coins, pieces of glass and clay utensils and jewelry scattered throughout the area, indicate a vibrant trade activity.