'Incredibly Rare' Artifact Depicting Roman God of Wealth Discovered

Archaeologists have uncovered an a "incredibly rare" artifact depicting a Roman deity at a site in the United Kingdom.

The find came to light during excavations at Smallhythe Place in the county of Kent in southeast England. The area was once home to one of the most important royal shipbuilding centers in the country during the medieval period, located by the River Rother.

But recent excavations at the medieval shipyard have also revealed evidence of an earlier Roman settlement that appears to have been occupied between the 1st and 3rd centuries.

Among the finds from this settlement was the head of a pipeclay figurine depicting Mercury, the Roman god of wealth, commerce, good fortune, communication, travelers, thieves and tricksters.

Most Roman figurines made from pipeclay (a type of fine white clay) found in Britain depict female deities, typically Venus, making the Mercury artifact unusual.

While Mercury was the god most frequently represented in metal figurines from the period, pipeclay examples are "incredibly rare", Nathalie Cohen, an archaeologist with the National Trust who led the excavations that uncovered the head, said in a press release.

"The figurine is significant as fewer than 10 pipeclay Mercury figurines have been discovered so far from Roman Britain," Cohen told Newsweek.

The National Trust, which manages the Smallhythe Place site, is a charity organization focused on heritage conservation in the United Kingdom.

Although the archaeologists did not find the remaining part of the figurine, the head, which measures around 2 inches tall, clearly represents Mercury, featuring the deity's characteristic winged headdress.

The complete figurine would likely have depicted the deity standing, either draped with a short cloak known as a chlamys, or naked, holding a staff with two intertwined snakes—called a caduceus.

Religion played a central role in the daily life of people living in most Roman provinces, such as Britain. Statues and portable figurines of deities, like the one depicting Mercury from Smallhythe Place, would have been worshipped by people from all levels of society in their homes.

The Mercury figurine was found in demolition material and appears to have been deliberately broken and discarded, according to Cohen, who said the artifact was likely from a domestic shrine in a house.

Matthew Fittock, an expert on ceramic figurines in Roman Britain, said in the press release: "Pipeclay figurines were mainly used by civilians for private religious practice in domestic shrines and occasionally in temples and the graves of often sick children.

"Rather than pieces being discarded because they were broken, there is evidence to suggest that deliberately breaking some figurine heads was an important ritual practice, whereas whole figurines are usually found in graves. Few single pipeclay heads are known in Britain, some of which may have been votive offerings. Finds like this at Smallhythe provide an extremely valuable insight into the religious beliefs and practices of the culturally mixed populations of the Roman provinces."

From the trenches excavated during the research project at Smallhythe, archaeologists have recorded evidence for four to five Roman timber buildings, pits used for rubbish disposal and ditches marking boundaries across the site.

The team has also found Roman tiles stamped with the mark of the Classis Britannica fleet at the site. Discoveries such as these provide tantalizing clues as to the nature of the ancient settlement.

"We think the settlement was likely a small port, located on the River Rother as part of the wider logistics chain exporting timber and iron from the Weald [a region of southeast England] to the wider Empire," Cohen told Newsweek.

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