Archaeology breakthrough as ‘wonderful’ Roman terracotta head uncovered
A remarkable Roman-era terracotta head unearthed by volunteer excavators at Magna Roman Fort in Northumberland last June is preparing to greet the public at the Roman Army Museum.
Volunteers Rinske de Kok and Hilda Gribbin made the striking discovery while working on the fort’s northern defences near Walltown Crags.
The artefact, measuring 78mm by 67mm, portrays a regal female figure sporting a distinctive centrally parted hairstyle with four-strand plaits.
Some specialists have suggested the mysterious woman depicted could represent a goddess, though her true identity remains a matter of debate.
The piece is notably rough, featuring mismatched eyes and peculiar ears.
Roman artefact specialist Lindsay Allason Jones assessed the find as appearing to be “a practice piece by an inexpert hand.”
“The eyes do not match at all, and the ears are very weird,” she observed.
“That leads me to presume it was made on site as no one would have bothered to transport this very far or paid good money for it!”
A remarkable Roman-era terracotta head unearthed by volunteer excavators at Magna Roman Fort in Northumberland last June is preparing to greet the public at the Roman Army Museum
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THE VINDOLANDA CHARITABLE TRUST
Whilst terracotta face pots appear frequently across Roman Britain, free-standing sculptural heads of this nature are exceptionally uncommon, making the discovery particularly noteworthy for archaeologists.
Intriguingly, this is not the first such head to emerge from Magna’s ancient soil.
A more accomplished terracotta was recovered from the same site during the 19th century and now resides in Newcastle’s Great North Museum, having been donated to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1982.
Rachel Frame, senior archaeologist at Magna, noted the unmistakable similarities between the two pieces.
Roman artefact specialist Lindsay Allason Jones assessed the find as appearing to be ‘a practice piece by an inexpert hand’
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THE VINDOLANDA CHARITABLE TRUST
She explained: “My current hypothesis is that the 2025 find is a locally made copy of the earlier example, which may itself have been imported.
“The woman depicted was clearly important to the people living at Magna.”
The terracotta head emerged from a substantial five-year archaeological endeavour backed by £2.5million in funding, with the National Lottery Heritage Fund contributing £1.625million towards the excavations.
Rachel Frame, senior archaeologist at Magna, noted the unmistakable similarities between the the more accomplished terracotta (left) and the terracotta recently discovered (right)
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THE VINDOLANDA CHARITABLE TRUST
According to the Vindolanda Trust, such terracotta busts are widely understood as votive objects employed in religious ceremonies.
However, they remain unusual finds in Britain despite being commonplace elsewhere in the Roman world.
Barbara Birley, the Trust’s curator, confirmed the head will join a display of recent discoveries at the Roman Army Museum, alongside leather footwear, a silver ring, bone hairpins, glass beads and a Venus pipe clay figurine.
