Archaeologists in southwestern England have discovered a nearly 2,000-year-old figurine of the god Cupid along the route of a former Roman road.
As Matty Airey reports for the Gloucestershire Gazette, a Highways England team surveying the area ahead of construction discovered the statuette, as well as a bow-shaped brooch and a human skeleton, outside the town of Birdlip in Gloucestershire County.
“It is a rare and exciting find,” says Mel Barge, inspector of ancient monuments at Historic England, in a statement. “It will tell us about the lives and beliefs of the small Roman community that lived alongside this road.”
Per BBC News, fewer than 50 Roman Cupid figurines have been found in the United Kingdom to date. This one is made of solid bronze and shows the winged god of love holding a flaming torch. The statue was unearthed in a charcoal deposit, suggesting it may have been an offering to the gods.
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