Head of Sulis Minerva

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The Sulis Minerva gilt bronze head is a renowned object from Roman Britain, discovered in 1727 at the Bath site. Its existence hinted that the Roman settlement was unlike others. Only two other fragments of gilt bronze sculptures are known to exist from Roman Britain. This head likely belonged to the cult statue of the goddess, standing within her Temple beside the Sacred Spring. From there, she may have gazed across the Temple courtyard to the great altar, the site of sacrifice, at the heart of that sacred space. The original object could be over 300 years old when it met its demise, dating back to the foundation of the site in the later first century AD. The head is slightly larger than life-size, suggesting an imposing presence for the original statue. Several small holes are hidden within the hairline, where rivets once held her tall Corinthian helmet securely on her head. Examination reveals that the head features six layers of gilding: two fire-gilded and four applied as gold leaf. The head has imperfections due to corrosion in areas where it lay buried for over a thousand years. There is also a strange rectangular cut beneath the chin, possibly resulting from a flaw in the original casting process, where a bubble may have been removed and replaced with an inserted plate. When gilded over, this would not have been visible; however, the plate has since fallen out due to corrosion while buried.