Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Thursday, 14 September 2023

A Roman statue of Triton from Kent


Roman remains continue to catch my eye as the Mail Online reports the discovery of a late first or second century statue of Triton from a mausoleum which is being excavated on the line of the Roman road now represented by the A2 at Teynham in north Kent.

The stone statue, more than two feet tall, is the first more or less complete statue of the semi-god to be found in Britain. Experts have drawn attention to its quality and detail as the report indicates. Today in this country we are most likely to associate Triton with the four figures of him who support the State Coach of 1762 and which was used at the Coronation.

The illustrated report about the discovery and about the mausoleum site, together with future plans for the remains, can be seen at 2,000-year-old Roman sculpture found buried next to the A2 in Kent


No comments: