Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

A small Romano-British figurine c.5 cm tall was reputedly found in the vicinity of Royton Manor.

Summary from record MKE70405:

Portable Antiquities Scheme find - Post Medieval copper alloy figurine

Monument Types

• FINDSPOT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Associated Finds

• FIGURINE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Full description

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A small Romano-British figurine c.5 cm tall was reputedly found in the vicinity of Royton Manor. (1)

It is a standing nude male figure with his weight on his left leg and the right knee slightly flexed. Both feet are missing. The figure wears a high crested helmet perhaps pushed back up the head. The features are somewhat indistinct. The left arm cradles what is probably a cornucopia (horn of plenty) and the right is raised from the elbow, probably to originally hold a spear. A Mars type figurine.

Probably copper alloy. 2nd or 3rd century in date?

Description from record MKE70405:
Copper alloy cast figurine. The piece is of a naked human male, craddling an object (a club?) in the left arm, right arm bent at the elbow and raised. The head is turned slightly to the right, and is helmeted, with a helmet crest and plume. The figure's limbs terminate in rough 'blobs'; it is unclear whether this is how the figure was cast, or if the hands and feet have broken off. There are traces of casting lines still present and these, along with the overall flatness of the figure and the poorly executed helmet suggest that the piece is of neo-classical, rather than Roman date. In either case the figure probably represents Mars or Hercules.
Date: from Post 1700 AD (Probably) to Post 1900 AD (Probably)
Period: Post Medieval
Broad Period:
Method of manufacture: Cast
Length: 59 mm
Width: 33 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Wear: Worn: fine
OS GridRef: TQ905503
Easting: 590500
Northing: 150300
Date found: 01 January 2002 (Ante)
Methods of discovery: Metal detector
Recorded by: Andrew Richardson
Primary Identifier: Ralph Jackson
Secondary Identifier: Richard Hobbs
Subsequent action: Returned to finder
County: KENT
District: MAIDSTONE
Parish: LENHAM
Address: Mount Castle Farm
General landuse: Character undetermined
Specific landuse: Cultivated land

Lenham Archaeological Society, 2005, Letter from the Lenham Archaeological Society (Miscellaneous Material). Ske13569.

<1> Lenham Archaeological Society, 2005, Letter from the Lenham Archaeological Society (Miscellaneous Material). SKE13569.

<2> Lenham Archaeological Society, 2018, Late Iron Age Settlement at Royton-Mountcastle, Lenham Heath, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE32557.

<3> Lenham Archaeological Society, 2018, Late Iron Age Settlement at Royton-Mountcastle, Lenham Heath, Kent, Archaeological survey and excavations (Unpublished document). SKE52887.

Sources and further reading