ARCHIVED - Archaeologists study mystery Roman eagle recovered by police in Badajoz
The eagle was not the famed standard followed by Roman legions, experts conlude
Archaeologists at the Museo Arqueológico de Badajoz, in the western Spanish region of Extremadura, are currently attempting to establish the exact nature of a sculpture of an eagle which is believed to be of Roman origin and which was handed over to them recently by the Policía Nacional after it was found to be up for sale online.
Initially it was assumed that the finely sculpted bronze eagle was one of those used by Roman legions as their standard and would therefore be a particularly important discovery. It was thought to date from the 3rd or 4th century AD, as it was put up for sale along with a collection of 495 coins dating from the same period.
The police investigation began when officers found the items being sold on the internet and concluded that they had been recently taken from an unauthorized dig. The coins were confiscated in order to ensure that such items of heritage were not lost and are now being studied in order to determine their provenance and value.
Less information has been given about how the police came to be in possession of the figure of the eagle and other items dating from the Paleolithic, but it is the eagle which has attracted most attention and there are now serious doubts over whether it really is one of those which would have been carried by an “aquilifer” or eagle-bearer at the front of a marching legion. Two experts have declared that this is not the case, and while recognizing that the figure may be Roman in origin are also open to the possibility that it dates from as recently as the 19th century.
The reason cited is that the eagles of legions were usually made of silver rather than bronze, and at the same time the posture of the bird, with its wings outstretched, is typical of the period between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, when there was little in the way of a large Roman military presence in Lusitania (the Roman province which now include Extremadura and Portugal).
For the time being the mystery remains unsolved, although all agree that the eagle is an extremely attractive piece, although experts in Badajoz hope to offer their definitive judgement within a few weeks.