See other History Articles
Title: Roman ruler's head found in sewer
Source:
BBC News
URL Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4727391.stm
Published: Jul 29, 2005
Author: BBC
Post Date: 2005-07-29 09:09:46 by robin
Keywords: rulers, Roman, found
Views: 75
Comments: 2
A 1,700-year-old carved marble head of Emperor Constantine has been found in a sewer in central Rome. Archaeologists found the 60cm (2ft) head while clearing an ancient drainage system in the ruins of the Roman Forum. Eugenio La Rocca, superintendent of Rome's artefacts, described the head as a rare find and said it was possible it had been used to clear a blocked sewer. Constantine, who reigned from 306 to 337, is known for ending persecution of Christians and founding Constantinople. Although most of his subjects remained pagans, he is credited with helping to establish Europe's Christian roots by proclaiming religious freedom. The white marble head was confirmed as a portrait of Constantine by experts who compared it with coins and two other giant heads kept in Rome's Capitoline Museums. Probably carved between 312 and 325 AD, when Constantine was at the height of his power, it may have belonged to a statue of the emperor in full armour. "Recovering a portrait of this size and in this state of conservation in the very heart of the city is really extraordinary," said Mr La Rocca. "We have concluded that the head did not fall by accident into the passage, but was put there on purpose. "It could have been used as a big piece of stone to divert water from the drain, or it could have been put there to symbolise the resentment of a pagan people for their Christian emperor." The head's unceremonious insertion in the drain may have saved it from the plundering of the Forum after the fall of the Roman empire in the 5th Century. It is expected to go on display in Rome's museums after a brief period of restoration.
(4 images) 
It could have been put there to symbolise the resentment of a pagan people for their Christian emperor 
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: robin (#0)
Maybe he was caught hiding in an outhouse peeking up at gals doing their biznis... EWWWWW... ( I trust y'all heard about THAT fella recently caught in NH ) http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/wireStory?id=890538 iffen you're interested
I'm not a terrorist just because I think GWB may very well be the greatest threat to America right now.
"We had to decontaminate him," said Capt. Jon Hebert of the Carroll County Sheriff's Department, adding that firefighters hosed the man down before police handcuffed him. "We treated him as if he were hazardous material," Hebert said. Moody was charged with criminal trespass. Hebert said he could face more charges. i'm speechless.
#2. To: siagiah (#1)
ALBANY, N.H. Jun 28, 2005 — A 45-year-old man was arrested after a teenage girl found him staring at her from below an outhouse seat, police said. Police said they pulled Gary Moody, from Gardiner, Maine, from the waste tank under a log cabin outhouse on Monday.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest