Editing Lullingstone Roman Villa (section)

== Art and artefacts ==

=== The Victory Gem ===
[[File:Head of Bust from Lullingstone Roman Villa in the British Museum.jpg|thumb|Bust from Lullingstone Roman Villa discovered in the Basement Room. Of the two discovered, it is comparatively more damaged.]]
Discovered during the initial excavations by G.W. Meates, the Victory Gem is a "Roman cornelian intaglio".<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Henig|first=Martin|date=2007|title=The Victory-Gem from Lullingstone Roman Villa|url=https://doi.org/10.1179/jba.2007.160.1.1|journal=Journal of the British Archaeological Association|volume=160|pages=1–7|doi=10.1179/jba.2007.160.1.1 |s2cid=191338430 }}</ref> Cornelian intaglios like this were normally set in rings, and based on its size, it is thought that its ring was large. Measuring 23 by 19 by 5&nbsp;mm, it is one of the largest gems ever found in Britain.<ref name=":4" /> Considering the potential size of the ring and other remnants of precious metals on the gem, such as gold, Martin Henig suggests that the ring was once owned by a man that held both high status and wealth.<ref name=":4" />  The gem depicts personified Victory writing a message of triumph on a shield. It is thought that the gem has Greek characteristics as the artwork depicts elements of the goddesses [[Nike (mythology)|Nike]] and [[Aphrodite]].<ref name=":4" />

=== Busts ===
The two marble busts found in the Basement Room are thought to represent [[Pertinax]], governor in 185–186 AD, and his father, Publius Helvius Successus.  Some scholars suggest that these two busts provide insight into who occupied the villa in at least the 2nd century.<ref name=":5">[http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/lullingstone-roman-villa/history-and-research/history/2-a-governors-palace/ "A Governor's Palace?"  Lullingstone Roman Villa, English Heritage, accessed 15 June 2012.]</ref> One of the busts is thought to date to the Hadrianic period.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Black|first=E.W.|date=1994|title=Villa Owners: Romano-British Gentlemen and Officers|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/526990|journal=Britannia|publisher=Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies|volume=25|pages=99–110|doi=10.2307/526990 |jstor=526990 |s2cid=163325920 }}</ref> Though they are both quite well preserved, the second, and larger of the busts was more damaged when it was found during the initial excavations. According to excavation reports, it is not entirely certain why they were placed in the Basement Room. It was noted, however, that after the period of abandonment, those who reoccupied the villa may have decided to keep them for their own purposes.<ref name=":33" />