Construction worker digs up ‘big stone.’ It was a ‘mysterious’ 1,800-year-old statue

Greg Crawley sat atop a large digger machine, excavating a patch of land on the edge of an estate in the United Kingdom.

Crawley was part of a team of workers constructing a new overflow parking lot at Burghley House in April.

As he dug up the ground, he spotted “a pale object amongst the lifted earth,” according to a March 5 news release from the estate. When Crawley checked out the object, he realized he had actually made a “thrilling discovery.”

“I had a real shock as the digger bucket rolled over what I thought was a big stone to reveal a face,” Crawley said in the release. “When I picked it up, I realized it was a head of a statue.”

The statue depicts “the features of a beautiful Roman lady,” officials said.

Experts examined the marble head and identified it as a first century or second century Roman statue. It dates to about 1,800 years ago.

The “mysterious” statue had an iron dowel added to it later, so it could be attached to a bust or pedestal, the estate said.

“This type of adaptation was often carried out by Italian dealers in antiquities during the late 18th century to make excavated ancient fragments more attractive to aristocrats traveling in Italy on what was known as the Grand Tour,” estate officials said.

The Grand Tour was a “multiyear journey” through France and Italy undertaken by “wealthy young men from northern Europe” as part of their education, according to Britannica.

Officials believe the statue was purchased by an Earl during a trip to Italy in the 1760s.

Weeks after the head was found, its corresponding bust was unearthed nearby, officials said. Both pieces were carefully cleaned and reported to the British Museum before they were reconstructed.

“I couldn’t believe it when they told me it was a Roman marble statue. It was an amazing feeling to have found something so old and special – definitely my best ever discovery,” Crawley said in the release.

Although details about the statue’s history have been revealed, “it remains a complete mystery how the head and bust ended up buried in the park,” officials said. “It is also unclear how long it has remained hidden underground before being discovered.”

Experts have hypothesized that the statue was part of a “bungled burglary,” or maybe was just discarded and covered by soil.

The statue and bust are now on display at Burghley Estate.

The estate is in Stamford, which is about a 92-mile drive north of London.

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