Roman goddess found in farmer’s marge tub

RARE FINDS: A 2,000-year-old Roman stauette of the goddess Minerva was among more than 1,200 treasures included in the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Report; others included a Bronze Age gold bulla found in Shropshire and a post-medieval pocket watch found in Buckinghamshire. WITH A metal detector clamped to his hand, he lived in hope of unearthing buried treasure. He didn’t expect it to be staring him in the face, in a margarine tub in a farmer’s kitchen.

The 2,000-year-old Roman bronze of the goddess Minerva had lain in the discarded Flora tub for a decade before Len Jackman caught sight of it in a farmhouse in rural Oxfordshire.

“You could see it was Roman. You could tell by the weight,” said the retired lorry driver, who had been detecting on the farmer’s land when he was invited inside.

“I was going to get my own finds valued, and he said, ‘You might as well take that as well’. I said, ‘I think you’ll be getting a phone call’,” he recalled.

The statuette was among 1,267 treasures whose details were

It brings home to me how close we are to the people of the past. Arts Minister Michael Ellis.

published by the British Museum in the Portable Antiquities Annual report

The others included a Bronze Age gold bulla found in the Shropshire marshes, which has been dated at 3,500 years old, and a post-medieval silver pocket watch found in Buckinghamshire.

The Arts Minister, Michael Ellis, said 78,000 archaeological items had been logged last year alone. Around 93 per cent were discovered by metal detectorists, though by no means all of the finds were classified as treasure.

A reported 1.5 per cent of the population is reported to be actively involved in metal detection.

“The Roman statue of Minerva found in a food container, was found by knowledge. That expertise has enriched us all,” Mr Ellis said.

“It brings home to me how close we are to the people of the past. We can relate to them.”