The gilt bronze head of the
goddess Sulis Minerva is one of the best known objects from Roman
Britain. Its discovery in 1727 was an early indication that
the Roman site at Bath was not a typical settlement. Gilt
bronze sculptures are rare finds from Roman Britain as only two
other fragments are known.
The head is probably from the cult statue of the deity which
would have stood within her Temple beside the Sacred Spring. From
there she may have looked out across the Temple courtyard to
the site of the great altar, the site of sacrifice, which stood at
the heart of that sacred space. The statue may well be an
original object from the foundation of the site in the later first
century AD, which means that it was probably well over three
hundred years old when it met its demise.
The head has a fascinating story to tell that we can glean from
its circumstances of discovery, its condition and from scientific
examination.
First of all we should note that the head is slightly larger
than life size, suggesting that the original statue of which it
formed a part was an imposing sight. For many of those who
saw it there may have been no previous encounter with an object of
such awesome golden brilliance.
Hidden in the hair line are several small holes which once held
rivets that fixed her tall Corinthian helmet to her head.
Examination of the head has revealed that it has six layers of
gilding. The first two use a technique known as fire gilding
whilst the four later layers are applied as gold leaf.
Whilst it is possible that the statue may originally have been
given two coats the later re-gildings, using a different technique,
point to an interval of time during which the original gilding
deteriorated to such an extent that an expensive re-gilding was
thought necessary. Why should this happen, and why should
there be four layers?
We can seek an explanation in the circumstances that existed
within the Temple. Here, in a windowless inner sanctum, all
lighting was artificial. Oil lamps or a sacred flame in front
of the statue would have provided illumination. Either source
would have emitted smoke and necessitated regular cleaning and
polishing of the statue to maintain its brilliance. This very act
of care would have slowly worn away the gilding. A rare text
referring to Roman Britain mentions this very Temple at Bath in
which ‘the eternal flames never whiten in to ash’.
When looking closely at the head we can see that it has a number
of imperfections. There is corrosion which has affected it in
parts where it lay in the ground for over a thousand years.
There is also a strange rectangular cut beneath the chin. It
is thought that this may result from a flaw in the original casting
process in which a bubble on the surface may have been cut out and
filled with an inserted plate. When gilded over it would not
have been visible to a casual observer. This plate has
subsequently fallen out as a result of corrosion whilst in the
ground.
There are other imperfections that cannot be so easily
explained. The head appears to have been deliberately
damaged. There is a huge dent by the right eye and the
irregular form of the neck suggests that it may have been torn from
the body. Who would want to do this and why? It could have
been the work of people vandalising and looting the Temple.
Barbarian raiders in late Roman Britain are a possibility as they
would have been attracted by the Temple’s wealth. My belief
is that it is more likely to have been the work of Christian
iconoclasts, sweeping through the Temple complex and destroying its
pagan symbols. In 391 AD the Emperor Theodosius ordered the
closure of pagan temples throughout the Roman Empire. This
could be the time at which an increasingly Christian population,
acting with official support, finally overthrew the goddess Sulis
Minerva, dismembered her statue and, deeply suspicious of her pagan
power, killed it by burying her head just a few yards from her
Temple.