Two metal detectorists are celebrating after a ‘nationally important’ Roman bronze hoard of artefacts they dug up sold for £240,000.
James Spark and Mark Didlick uncovered the bust of emperor Marcus Aurelius last year alongside a statuette of the god of Mars on horseback, a horse-head knife handle and a large bronze pendulum.
The immaculately preserved items were buried in a field in Ryedale, North Yorks, as an offering to the gods as part of a Roman religious ceremony in about 160AD.
The finely-modelled bust of the Roman ruler Marcus Aurelius, who ruled from 161-180AD, depicts him with hair and beard flamboyantly curled. What is your view?
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