Object Details
From:NHerts
Name/TitleRoman portrait head
About this objectRoman portrait head in Carrara marble, thought to depict Germanicus Iulius Caesar (15 BC-AD 19), probably dating from the time when he was heir presumptive of Emperor Tiberius I (i.e. AD 14-19). Found during a house clearance in a garden shed in Radwell, covered in pre-1940 green paint. Plough damaged and sawn from a probably life-sized statue. There are holes in the hair to attach a metal laurel-wreath.
Circumstantial evidence suggests that it was found on the site of a large Roman villa in Radwell. The owner of the shed had ploughed the field where the villa lies during the 1930s, which is the date of the paint covering it when found; the damage to one cheek indicates that it lay in ploughsoil for many years; pottery contemporary with this sculpture was found on the site of the villa in 2011, suggesting occupation at this time.
Hertfordshire Historic Environment Record entry.
During the second Coronavirus lockdown lockdown of 2020 North Hertfordshire Museum Visitor Services Assistant William Stafford researched and gave his opinion on this object.
Further information
Germanicus
Roman General in 1st Century AD born 15BC, his name coincidentally similar to the area he was most famous for campaigns in, Germania.
Having been born into a wealthy Roman family, Germanicus was already on the path to becoming a powerful man from a young age. He began his military career early at 21, four years earlier than the legal age. He raised an army to reinforce the Romans in Illyricum and helped Tiberius put down a revolt of Dalmatians and Pannonia.
With a triumphant return to Rome he began a successful political career and became consul in 12AD at 27. He was well liked in office and had a number of successes, including the defence of a senator accused of murder before Augustus.
From 12AD he began campaigning across Germania, including avenging the Roman defeat at Teutoburg forest, even reclaiming two of the Eagles lost in the battle.
Illness in Antioch ended his life suddenly, with many historical sources reporting it as poisoning. The people of Rome went into a state of shock and emergency before the Senate even announced it. Tacticus writes that it showed the grief of the Roman people, who knew how to mourn Princes without an edict from a magistrate.
Widely accepted as the perfect Roman by Romans long after his death, he was akin to Alexander the Great to the Roman people, according to Tacticus. In 37AD Germanicus’ last surviving son is crowned Emperor, Caligula.
Radwell Villa
There is little written about the villa at Radwell; what has been written concludes it was a wealthy home that may have been used as a holiday retreat or a year-round family home. The finding of the head suggests considerable wealth of the owners.
The HER record suggests that the complex covers an area of 50,000m^2 (250m x 200m) and is surrounded by a broad ditch. Made of two houses and two rectangular barns, where Roman villas in the UK normally assume a formal layout centred around a central courtyard, some of the outbuildings at Radwell are aligned in a well-spaced row, similar to the style in Gallia Belgica. A wall cuts off the domestic and working sides of the villa, running NW to the SE of the two barns.
This villa is one of a number of roman villas that surround Baldock, others at Purwell, Little Wymondley, Kelshall & Wallington. These villas are often viewed in the same way as the English Country Estate, with large amounts of land surrounding the property. Though some of the above are little more than farmhouses built in the Italian style, others, such as Wallington, are much larger and more complex.
The occupants of such houses may be able to be identified through the remains found in the 24 Roman cemeteries in Baldock. A mix of graves have been identified with some being clearly of an upper social class. Mausoleums clad in decorative marbles may be the tombs of the local higher classes. Even without this evidence such as older inhumation and those that do not show the bone wear of heavy labour, something which is characteristic of differing social classes. One burial of an elderly woman appears to have required consistent medical care towards the end of her life, something that would have been difficult to achieve for all but the wealthiest of Roman society.
The head was further discussed in a blog post on 14 March 2023.
Date MadeAD 14-19
PeriodLate Iron Age to Roman (100 BC-AD 411)
Place MadeItaly
Medium and MaterialsStone | Decorative | Carrara marble
Named CollectionLetchworth Museum
Object TypeSculpture
Object number2012.4
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved