Benwell, Condercum Fort, Statue of Antenociticus

HER Number:
5274

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
Benwell, Condercum Fort, Statue of Antenociticus

Place:
Benwell

Map Sheet:
NZ26SW

Class:
Gardens Parks and Urban Spaces

Site Type: Broad:
Sculpture

Site Type: Specific:
Statue

General Period:
Roman

Specific Period:
C2

Form of Evidence:
Find

Description:
The statue remains (the head and fragments of the forearm and lower leg) were found in 1862 in the Temple of Antenociticus. The head had been broken off at the neck. The nose, mouth and chin were slightly damaged and chipped in many places. The head measures 0.32 metres high, 0.20 metres wide and 0.26 metres deep. The fragment of leg measures 0.27 metres long and 0.15 metres in diameter. The forearm measures 0.21 metres long and 0.09 metres in diameter. The statue is of a young man with a thick crop of coarse hair combed forward. There was a torque around the neck. Possibly a life-size cult statue which would have stood in a niche or against a wall in the temple. The head is classical in style but the hairstyle, diamond shaped eyes and torque are Celtic. Museum of Antiquites No. 1924.6-8

Easting:
2171

Northing:
6467

Grid Reference:
NZ21716467

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 5274 >> S. Johnson, 1989, Hadrian's Wall, p 90; Archaeologia Aeliana, 1865, 2, VI, p153; Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle, 1927, 4, iii, 1927-8, p124-6; Northumberland County History, 1930, XIII, 552 nos 4-6; Kendrick, 1938, Anglo Saxon Art to AD 900, p 20-1; A. Ross, 1960, PSAS, XLI, 1957-8, p18-19, no xviii; Archaeologia Aeliana, 1961 4, XXXIX, p80-1; A. Ross, 1967, Pagan Celtic Britain, p 83, 163-4; J.M.C. Toynbee, 1963, Art in Roman Britain, p 146 no 41; J.M.C. Toynbee, 1964, Art in Britain under the Romans, p 106-7; D.J. Smith, 1974, Museum of Antiquities, Newcastle upon Tyne - An Illustrated Introduction, 23