In September 2013 a team of Archaeologists working on the site of a soon to be built 16 floor hotel in the Minories area of the City of London found this in, what was a ditch, caked in mud.
Eventually it was revealed and the Archaeologists were initially hesitant to decide on it being of the Roman era due to its exceptional quality.
There is only one other like it in the world. Found in the country of Jordan in 1937 and now on display in the Cincinnati Art Museum, U.S.A.
The Eagle found in the Minories is thought to have been part of a Mausoleum, the foundations of which were also found in the excavations.
The Eagle is thought to date to around the 1st to 2nd centuries A.D.
The Mausoleum is thought to have been broken up for use as building material, possibly to do with the construction of the wall around Londinium in around 200 A.D.
However the Eagle was kept intact and placed in a ditch.
It would have been painted originally, and it does have some detail on the back, contrary to what has been reported.
Eventually it was revealed and the Archaeologists were initially hesitant to decide on it being of the Roman era due to its exceptional quality.
There is only one other like it in the world. Found in the country of Jordan in 1937 and now on display in the Cincinnati Art Museum, U.S.A.
The Eagle is thought to date to around the 1st to 2nd centuries A.D.
The Mausoleum is thought to have been broken up for use as building material, possibly to do with the construction of the wall around Londinium in around 200 A.D.
However the Eagle was kept intact and placed in a ditch.
It would have been painted originally, and it does have some detail on the back, contrary to what has been reported.
