Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 9, 2026

Bosham Head

The Bosham Head is part of the largest Roman statue found in Britain, a large, 375-pound (170 kg) sculpted piece of stone that was discovered in Bosham, near Chichester, around 1800. It later resided for some time in the garden of the Bishop of Chichester's palace before being exhibited in the Chichester Museum where it now stands.

Last revised
Jul 9, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
182 w
Citations
2
Source
Bosham Head
Map
ArtistUnknown
YearAD 121–122
MediumStone
ConditionPoor
Location

The Bosham Head is part of the largest Roman statue found in Britain, a large (50cm high), 375-pound (170 kg) sculpted piece of stone that was discovered in Bosham, near Chichester, around 1800. It later resided for some time in the garden of the Bishop of Chichester's palace before being exhibited in the Chichester Museum where it now stands.

In 2013, 3D laser scans led Dr Miles Russell and Harry Manley of Bournemouth University1 to conclude that enough survived to suggest that the head was that of a lost sculpture of Emperor Trajan (53–117), perhaps erected by Hadrian at the mouth of Chichester Harbour.2

See also

See also

York Head

References

References

  1. Russell, M., & Manley, H. (2015) "Trajan Places: Establishing Identity and Context for the Bosham and Hawkshaw Heads". Britannia, 46, 151-169. doi:10.1017/S0068113X15000136, http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/22352/1/Print%20version.pdf
  2. Bennett-Smith, Meredith (4 October 2013). "'Bosham Head' Mystery Solved? Ancient Stone May Be From Statue Of Roman Emperor Trajan". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
External links

50°50′15″N 0°46′53″W / 50.8374°N 0.7813°W / 50.8374; -0.7813