roman sculpture

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This week: Elusive Sculptures

Very often, the stories we tell about archaeology are of objects being dug up, excavated, or otherwise unearthed. Sometimes, however, little actual digging is required, because the object being searched for has been there all along – right in front of the eye, hiding in plain sight, just waiting to be discovered.

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Who beheaded the emperors of Chiragan?

One of the finest collections of Roman emperors is to be found hidden away in the Musée Saint-Raymond, the archaeological museum of Toulouse, in south-western France. But where did they come from, and how did such a magnificent collection of Roman emperors come to lose their heads?

Lost and found: a Roman reunion

A 38cm-long bronze finger has rejoined the hand of Constantine the Great in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. The ancient digit, once part of a 12m-high statue of Constantine of which several sizeable fragments survive, was acquired by the Louvre…