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A waterlogged ditch in Buckinghamshire has yielded the most unexpected find — a rare, extremely well-preserved wooden figure dating back to Roman times.
The discovery — the first of its kind in 100 years — was initially dismissed as a piece of degraded wood when it was discovered in Twyford during work on HS2 last July.
However, closer analysis revealed that it bears the shape of a human, seemingly dressed in a knee-length tunic tied at the waist and sporting either a hat or hair.
The figure is 26 inches (67 cm) tall — having lost the lowest part of its legs, not to mention its arms below the elbow — and is 7 inches (18 cm) wide.
Archaeologists said that the lack of oxygen in the trench in which the figure was found was what prevented it from rotting — preserving it for some 2,000 years.
While its exact purpose is unknown, experts believe that the wooden representation may have been carved for the gods as a form of religious offering.
A waterlogged ditch in Buckinghamshire has yielded the most unexpected find — a rare, extremely well-preserved wooden figure (pictured) dating back to Roman times
The wooden figure (pictured) is 26 inches (67 cm) tall — having lost the lowest part of its legs, not to mention its arms below the elbow — and is 7 inches (18 cm) wide
'This is a truly remarkable find that brings us face to face with our past,' said Historic England's senior science advisor, Jim Williams.
'The quality of the carving is exquisite and the figure is all the more exciting because organic objects from this period rarely survive.'
In the same ditch from which the wooden figure was recovered, archaeologists also found shards of pottery dating back to around 43–70 AD.
To provide a
