Retired nurse finds two sculpted Roman heads at an archaeological dig near Hadrian’s Wall

Two monumental sculpted Roman heads from the 2nd century were discovered yesterday near Hadrian’s Wall by a retired American nurse who had volunteered to join an official excavation.

Ironically, one of the discoveries at the site in the northern cathedral city of Carlisle may represent Fortuna, the goddess of fortune.

Frank Giecco, a leading expert on Roman Britain who is leading the excavation, told MailOnline that the sculptures are “stunning.”

When I found them on the first day of a five-week dig, they became all the more sensational.

He said, ‘It’s become my year. The woman who found it is an American on her first day on an archaeological dig. You can work for 30 years and never find anything.’

Carolyn Veit, a retired Indiana nurse, has regularly visited friends in the area for the past 30 years, but this was her first experience of an archaeological dig.

She had joined a community dig related to the official dig, which is funded by the Shared Prosperity Fund, part of the government’s leveling agenda.

Speaking to MailOnline about her surprise at making such an extraordinary discovery, she said: “Some people said ‘it’s nothing, it’s just a rock'”.

“But I was so curious and thought maybe it isn’t.”

Gradually, she felt the outline of an eye, a nose and lips: “You could tell it was a face… We had a collective scream,” she added.

Of the first head, Mr. Giecco said, “I’ve never seen anything like it.” The second head has also just been lifted off the ground and is exciting for connoisseurs.

Their true meaning will emerge upon closer examination, but both heads are believed to be part of a huge sculpture that was probably once in a Roman bathhouse.

The excavation took place at the cricket club in Carlisle, a short distance from the Wall.

The bath house was next to the main Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall, the northern frontier of the empire.

The fortress contained an elite cavalry unit and had links to the imperial court. Imperial-stamped tiles suggest the existence of a lavish bathhouse complex.

Earlier this year, the same archeology team recovered semi-precious stones from the drains of that bathhouse, nearly 2,000 years after their owners lost them.

The vegetable glue in their rings was probably weakened by the hot and steamy baths.

While discussing the first of the newly discovered heads, Mr. Giecco on a much smaller sculpture found at Bearsden on the Antonine Wall, which has a similar hair treatment and is believed to represent the goddess Fortuna.

Perhaps these were made in a northern sculpture school, he suggested: ‘It’s made of sandstone.

“It’s provincial… It wouldn’t compare favorably to a nice marble statue you’d see in the Vatican or something.

“But for Carlisle and on the Northern Frontier, it’s remarkable. He is about 60 cm high. So it’s twice life size.’

These were two heads left on the Roman road.

The rest of their sculpted bodies may still be found as the excavation progresses, unless those parts were long ago taken away and reused as building material.

Mr Giecco said: ‘The heads, which are amusingly shaped, may not have been very useful to be incorporated into a building. So they just left.’

He added, “I’m stunned. Just find two [sculpted heads] so on day one, who knows what else might pop up. It [raises] the status of this site.’

Professor Martin Henig, a leading expert on Roman art at the University of Oxford, told MailOnline: ‘These are two of the most distinguished sculptures to have come out of North Britain. They are absolutely iconic.”

He suggested that they may have been part of a grandiose fountain in the baths or used decoratively, perhaps on the roof.

He pointed out the features of the heads, such as an open mouth and staring eyes, and said, “If they have a purpose, they are mainly for deterring the evil eye.” After all, when you take a bath, you are naked and vulnerable to evil forces.’

Cumberland Council is involved in managing the project.