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| A Roman Sarcophagus Is Rescued from Humble Duty as a Flower Pot | A Roman Sarcophagus Is Rescued from Humble Duty as a Flower Pot |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| This was no ordinary flower pot holding up the tulips in an English garden. | This was no ordinary flower pot holding up the tulips in an English garden. |
| When an antiques expert visited Blenheim Palace in England on official business about a year ago, he happened to notice an ornately carved marble piece that was being used as a planter in one of the estate’s gardens. Something about the carvings was familiar — there was a drunken Dionysus leaning on a satyr, carved lion heads and depictions of Hercules and Ariadne merrymaking at a party. | When an antiques expert visited Blenheim Palace in England on official business about a year ago, he happened to notice an ornately carved marble piece that was being used as a planter in one of the estate’s gardens. Something about the carvings was familiar — there was a drunken Dionysus leaning on a satyr, carved lion heads and depictions of Hercules and Ariadne merrymaking at a party. |
| The flower pot turned out to be part of an ancient Roman sarcophagus. | The flower pot turned out to be part of an ancient Roman sarcophagus. |
| This week, the palace, a sweeping 18th-century site in Oxfordshire just outside London, announced that it had removed the | |
| “We are hoping it will remain in good condition and survive for many more centuries to come,” said Kate Ballenger, the house manager at Blenheim Palace, in a statement announcing the discovery of the sarcophagus piece. | “We are hoping it will remain in good condition and survive for many more centuries to come,” said Kate Ballenger, the house manager at Blenheim Palace, in a statement announcing the discovery of the sarcophagus piece. |
| Blenheim Palace is a World Heritage site that has been the home of the dukes of Marlborough for 300 years. It has a unique historical place in Britain’s history: It was used as a hospital for wounded soldiers during World War I and as a home for evacuees in World War II. Sir Winston Churchill was born at the palace and spent his boyhood there. | Blenheim Palace is a World Heritage site that has been the home of the dukes of Marlborough for 300 years. It has a unique historical place in Britain’s history: It was used as a hospital for wounded soldiers during World War I and as a home for evacuees in World War II. Sir Winston Churchill was born at the palace and spent his boyhood there. |
| In 1950, the palace was opened to the public for the first time, and it plays host to social events, weddings, fashion shows and exhibitions — in addition to now housing a piece of Roman antiquity in a display at the bottom of a staircase in a hallway. | In 1950, the palace was opened to the public for the first time, and it plays host to social events, weddings, fashion shows and exhibitions — in addition to now housing a piece of Roman antiquity in a display at the bottom of a staircase in a hallway. |
| The marble coffin, which is 17 centuries old, appeared on the property during the time of George Spencer-Churchill, the 5th Duke of Marlborough, in the 19th century. It was initially used to collect water from a natural spring near one of the palace’s features, called the Great Lake, the statement said. | |
| But early in the 20th century it was incorporated into a rock garden. And it stayed there, until the fateful day last year when it was discovered — filled with dirt, planted with tulips and attached to a lead cistern — by the antiques specialist, who was strolling through while visiting on other business. | But early in the 20th century it was incorporated into a rock garden. And it stayed there, until the fateful day last year when it was discovered — filled with dirt, planted with tulips and attached to a lead cistern — by the antiques specialist, who was strolling through while visiting on other business. |
| “He happened to see it,” Jonathan Prince, a palace spokesman, said in a telephone interview on Thursday. The antiques expert knew that a similar marble coffin had been auctioned off for more than 100,000 pounds, about $121,000, Mr. Prince said. But because of the condition of the piece at Blenheim Palace, he suggested to Mr. Prince that the value of the sarcophagus might be three times as much. | “He happened to see it,” Jonathan Prince, a palace spokesman, said in a telephone interview on Thursday. The antiques expert knew that a similar marble coffin had been auctioned off for more than 100,000 pounds, about $121,000, Mr. Prince said. But because of the condition of the piece at Blenheim Palace, he suggested to Mr. Prince that the value of the sarcophagus might be three times as much. |
| “But it is not for sale, not at all,” Mr. Prince said in the interview. “It will stay here.” | “But it is not for sale, not at all,” Mr. Prince said in the interview. “It will stay here.” |
| After the discovery by the expert, whose identity the palace is keeping private, conservationists were called in. | After the discovery by the expert, whose identity the palace is keeping private, conservationists were called in. |
| Nicholas Barnfield, an architectural stone and sculpture expert with Cliveden Conservation, set to work. He described the piece as the front of a coffin that is missing its base, sides and back. Even as a fragment, the piece is 6 feet long, 2.5 feet high and about 6 inches thick; it weighs about 550 pounds. | Nicholas Barnfield, an architectural stone and sculpture expert with Cliveden Conservation, set to work. He described the piece as the front of a coffin that is missing its base, sides and back. Even as a fragment, the piece is 6 feet long, 2.5 feet high and about 6 inches thick; it weighs about 550 pounds. |
| The team cut the bolts, released it from the cistern, put it into a box and transported it by van to their workshop. It was carefully cleaned to avoid damaging the surface, with “a splash of water and some wooden picks” used to remove encrustations from its days as a fountain feature, Mr. Barnfield said in a telephone interview. | The team cut the bolts, released it from the cistern, put it into a box and transported it by van to their workshop. It was carefully cleaned to avoid damaging the surface, with “a splash of water and some wooden picks” used to remove encrustations from its days as a fountain feature, Mr. Barnfield said in a telephone interview. |
| There was some damage — bolt holes and broken or weathered features on some of the sculptures — but it was ready to return to its palace home after about six months. “We took it back with four blokes with manual lifting,” Mr. Barnfield said. | There was some damage — bolt holes and broken or weathered features on some of the sculptures — but it was ready to return to its palace home after about six months. “We took it back with four blokes with manual lifting,” Mr. Barnfield said. |
| But there are still questions. “It is actually the beginning of the story,” he said. | But there are still questions. “It is actually the beginning of the story,” he said. |
| The piece is thought to date to the second century A.D., he said, based on the type of carving — the flowing wine from crushed grapes and the theme of Dionysus “ushering you into the afterlife in a nice drunken happy state, a merry state.” | The piece is thought to date to the second century A.D., he said, based on the type of carving — the flowing wine from crushed grapes and the theme of Dionysus “ushering you into the afterlife in a nice drunken happy state, a merry state.” |
| “It is indicative of when the Romans shifted from burning their dead to interring them,” Mr. Barnfield said. “So it is a coffin as such.” | “It is indicative of when the Romans shifted from burning their dead to interring them,” Mr. Barnfield said. “So it is a coffin as such.” |
| It is not clear who the sculptor was. And it is not clear who, if anyone, was buried in it. | It is not clear who the sculptor was. And it is not clear who, if anyone, was buried in it. |
| The hole borings could have been a result of an 18th-century restoration because of the demand at the time for such pieces, he said. | The hole borings could have been a result of an 18th-century restoration because of the demand at the time for such pieces, he said. |
| But there was little other evidence of anything from its 18th-century period, aside from the fact that it was a Roman sarcophagus, Mr. Barnfield said. | But there was little other evidence of anything from its 18th-century period, aside from the fact that it was a Roman sarcophagus, Mr. Barnfield said. |
| “There is still research that could be done about it,” he added. “This is really accomplished work. There are no inscriptions to indicate who it was for, but it was obviously someone of very high status.” | “There is still research that could be done about it,” he added. “This is really accomplished work. There are no inscriptions to indicate who it was for, but it was obviously someone of very high status.” |
| Mr. Barnfield, who oversaw the restoration, said that in his decades doing such conservation work, it was not unprecedented to stumble across historically significant objects in an English garden. | Mr. Barnfield, who oversaw the restoration, said that in his decades doing such conservation work, it was not unprecedented to stumble across historically significant objects in an English garden. |
| “We get inquiries on an almost weekly basis for quality objects,” he said. “A Roman one is unusual, something of this age. But there are two or three gardens around Britain that have quite significant artifacts in their gardens.” | “We get inquiries on an almost weekly basis for quality objects,” he said. “A Roman one is unusual, something of this age. But there are two or three gardens around Britain that have quite significant artifacts in their gardens.” |
| “It is not something we advertise because of theft, and also we don’t tend to sort of dwell on the monetary value of a piece as well,” he said. | “It is not something we advertise because of theft, and also we don’t tend to sort of dwell on the monetary value of a piece as well,” he said. |
| Mr. Barnfield has even seen a sarcophagus or two. “But not of this quality,” he said. “Some of them can be quite plain. This one is exquisite. It is jewel-like in its carving.” | Mr. Barnfield has even seen a sarcophagus or two. “But not of this quality,” he said. “Some of them can be quite plain. This one is exquisite. It is jewel-like in its carving.” |