'Incredibly rare' head of deity Mercury reveals previously unknown Roman settlement in UK
A bodiless clay head of the Roman god Mercury, discovered in England, has revealed the whereabouts of a previously unknown Roman settlement . Archaeologists found the head at Smallhythe Place, in Kent, a site that was known for shipbuilding in medieval times. So the team was surprised to find the roughly 2,000-year-old pipe-clay head of Mercury, the Roman god of fine arts, commerce and financial success. The "incredibly rare" head, as well as other finds from an excavation, indicate that a Roman settlement stood there between the first and third centuries, according to a statement from the National Trust, a conservation charity. Related: A slave was brutally crucified in Roman Britain 1,700 years ago. Now, his face has been brought back to life. Typically, Mercury figurines were crafted out of metal, making the pipe-clay — a fine, white clay used in later centuries to make tobacco pipes — discovery unexpected. At the time, most pipe-clay figurines were molded from ...