A rare find of a wing from a Roman bronze sculpture found in Gloucester earlier this year has been given to the Museum of Gloucester and is now on public display. Our archaeologists made the discovery when they were investigating the Brunswick Road site during construction of Linden Homes’ Greyfriars Quarter development.
Professor Martin Henig examines the wing
Professor Martin Henig (on the left) analysed the wing and confirmed: that it’s made from an alloy of lead and bronze, that the fine detail is in keeping with a 1st century AD date, and that other examples are known from Gloucestershire.
Initially it was thought to be an eagle’s wing but Professor Henig believes it is probable that the wing was originally attached to a statuette of Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory, as the attitude of the wing is unlike that in the majority of depictions of Roman imperial eagles. A further clue comes from the absence of decoration from one surface of the wing; the undecorated surface was not intended to be viewed, as would be the case if the wing was fixed to the back of a figure such as Victoria. No complete statuette of Victoria has survived from Roman Britain, however a full-size statue from Brescia, northern Italy and a statuette from Lyon in France both show Victoria with wings held in a similar ‘falling’ attitude.
A reconstruction of a Victoria statuette
Figures and images of Victory would probably have been frequently seen in important Roman military sites, such as Gloucester. Professor Henig concludes that “it is tempting to see the bronze being in some way related to the end of the legionary fortress at Gloucester and its conversion into a colonia (a civilian town which housed army veterans)”.
