All hail! Emperor’s head in Roman hoard worth £90k
MUDDY but otherwise well preserved, he doesn’t look as if he’s spent nearly 2,000 years buried in a Yorkshire field.
Now this bronze bust of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius – played by Richard Harris in the film Gladiator – and three other artefacts are expected to sell for more than £90,000. They were unearthed last year in Ryedale, North Yorkshire, by two metal detectorists. The items are believed to have been buried as part of a Roman religious ceremony in around AD160.
They were initially thought to be worth about £15,000 but Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire says it has received worldwide interest ahead of its sale on May 20 and has now put an estimate of £90,000 on hoard. The detectorists will have to split the proceeds with the landowner.