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Why Roman statues are headless


guy

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Numerous Roman statues have been discovered headless for various reasons. The neck is a natural weak point, making it common for heads to break off if a statue falls or is moved.

Moreover, Romans occasionally decapitated statues for political purposes, such as the practice of "damnatio memoriae," where the likenesses of dishonored emperors were deliberately destroyed. Sculptors often created statues with detachable heads for practical purposes, such as enabling future alterations for new emperors or empresses.

Finally, some statues were decapitated by art dealers to sell the heads and bodies separately for profit.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/why-are-so-many-roman-statues-headless

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Edited by guy
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