The Silchester eagle was discovered, wingless and damaged, on 9 October 1866 by the Reverend J. G. Joyce during the excavation of a Roman
basilica where it was likely part of a larger statue. It stands approximately high and has a hollow space inside which was accessed through a (now missing) square lid located on the top of the back of the bird. However, more recent archaeologists have suggested that the piece may have been intended as nothing more than scrap metal by the Romans at the time that it was lost, and was awaiting being recycled when the aerarium burnt down. == Legacy ==