A couple who have been volunteer diggers at the Roman fort of Vindolanda in Northumberland for 21 years have discovered a relief believed to be a depiction of the Roman goddess of Victory. Liverpool engineer Jim Quinlan and healthcare worker Dilys Quinlan unearthed the sandstone relief from a pile of rubble above the 3rd century infantry barracks.
The stone block is 47cm x 28cm x 17cm (18.5 x 11 x 6.7 inches) and is carved with a figure standing with on leg forward and holding a rounded object. If it is a representation of Victoria, the round object could be the wreath, a symbol of triumph that is one of her attributes. It looks rather spherical to me, though, so who knows.
The stone is thought to be one side of a much larger relief which would have framed an inscription in its centre. These particular barracks at Vindolanda were built at the end of a tumultuous time for the Romans in Britain, in c AD 213, just after the end of the Severan wars. The barracks were once adorned with a large ornamental arch and gate, precisely the location where an inscription may have been present. The relief of Victory is poignant, representing the end of the war and the establishment of the fort at the site. […]
Roman reliefs like this were often painted with vibrant colours. The Trust’s curator, Barbara Birley noted that “it is highly likely that this stone would have originally been brightly painted. We will be working with our specialists to see if any traces of the pigment remain, so for now the relief is being stored unwashed ready for that further analysis.”
The rubble layer it was found in was what remained of a 4th century floor, so it seems the relief was broken and a piece of it recycled a century later when the floor was built.
The relief will go on display at the Vindolanda Museum as part of an exhibition of recent discoveries in early 2026.
This video diary features Dr. Marta Alberti-Dunn, Deputy Director of Excavations at Vindolanda, giving an update the progress of this season’s dig. She speaks to finders and discusses the relief at 4:02.