An 1,800-year-old carved stone head of what is believed to
be a Roman god has been unearthed in an ancient rubbish dump.
Archaeologists made the discovery at Binchester Roman Fort,
near Bishop Auckland, in County Durham.
First year Durham University archaeology student Alex Kirton
found the artefact, which measures about 20cm by 10cm, in buried late Roman
rubbish within what was probably a bath house.
The sandstone head, which dates from the 2nd or 3rd century
AD, has been likened to the Celtic deity Antenociticus, thought to have been
worshipped as a source of inspiration and intercession in military affairs.