Actually, he’s already here.
On Thursday 7th July, we installed the latest in our series of sculptures celebrating the people of the Levels at Lighthouse Inn on the Wentlooge Levels.
The 2.4m tall figure of a roman Centurion was created by sculptor Sebastien Boysen from around 3000 laser-cut pieces of Corten steel, a ‘weathering’ steel that forms a coat of rust that protects the metal from further corrosion, ideal for a coastal location.
Weighing in at 300kg, installation of the figure was assisted by Horizon Civil Engineering, who recently finished work on the new car park and visitor gateway at Lighthouse Inn.
The farmed landscape of the Gwent Levels was created around 2000 years ago by Roman soldiers based at Caerleon. The soldiers, members of the Second Augustan Legion, were employed digging ditches and rudimentary sea defences to help drain the Levels, then a wild marshland, to provide year-round grazing for livestock.
There have been many archaeological discoveries from this period, including the Goldcliff Stone, a Roman-era marker stone recording the construction of a ditch or section of sea defences by soldiers under the command of Centurion Statorius Maximus. Our figure represents this Roman soldier.
