Mysterious Roman artefacts discovered at Burghley House during car park construction work

The mysterious Roman discovery was unearthed while construction was taking place at Burghley House last spring.

Regular visitors to Burghley House will already know the landmark house – one of the finest Elizabethan stately homes in the country – is a veritable treasure trove of art and historic artefacts.

However, those aiming to visit when the house reopens later this month can look forward to admiring a brand new treasure: the marble head of a Roman lady.

This mysterious 1,800-year-old Roman statue was unearthed when digger driver Greg Crawley stumbled upon it during car park construction work last spring.

"It was an amazing feeling to have found something so old and special," said digger driver Greg Crawley, who stumbled upon the statue during car park construction work last spring.

Greg recalled the moment he first noticed the pale object – which turned out to be the head – amongst the lifted earth.

“I had a real shock as the digger bucket rolled over what I thought was a big stone to reveal a face,” he said.

“When I picked it up, I realised it was a head of a statue.”

Experts quickly dated the sculpture as being from the First or Second Century.

The fully restored figure of the Roman lady now take centres stage among Burghley's sculptures on the famed Hell Staircase.

“I couldn’t believe it when they told me it was a Roman marble statue,” Greg admitted.

“It was an amazing feeling to have found something so old and special – definitely my best ever discovery.”

Amazingly, this incredible find was complemented two weeks later by ANOTHER sensational discovery just a short distance from where the head was found.

This time the unearthed treasure was a marble bust.

After being reported to the British Museum – which maintains a database of such discoveries – both items were quickly forwarded on to a professional conservator to be carefully cleaned and examined.

After a painstaking consolidation process, the conservator revealed that the separate discoveries were actually two parts of a single figure - that of a beautiful Roman lady.

The two pieces were tentatively reassembled to appear as they had originally been designed to be admired.

But while this matter has been resolved, the mystery of exactly how the head and bust ended up buried in the park remains unsolved.

While some claim a bungled burglary may be to blame, others maintain that the items may simply have been discarded.

One thing is certain though: when Burghley House reopens for the season on March 16, its newest treasures will be taking pride of place on display.