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Romans carefully dismantled statue of emperor when they withdrew from Scotland 1,800 years ago, leaving only his foot behind
Live Science • • world
Key Points:
- The Milsington leg, a gold-covered bronze lower right leg of a statue of Emperor Antoninus Pius, was discovered in a Scottish bog in 1820 and is the only monumental Roman emperor statue fragment found in Scotland.
- Experts believe the leg came from an equestrian statue similar to Marcus Aurelius's statue in Rome, likely erected near the Antonine Wall built during Antoninus Pius's reign around A.D. 140.
- The statue was carefully dismantled over 1,800 years ago during the Roman retreat from Scotland, as indicated by the absence of cut marks on the bronze, suggesting it was removed intact rather than destroyed.
- This discovery challenges previous assumptions about Rome's second attempt to conquer Scotland and highlights the significance of Antoninus Pius's imperial expansion efforts.
- The Milsington leg, along with other Roman artifacts, is now on display at the National Museum of Scotland, though the whereabouts of the rest of the statue remain unknown.
