Granite column from Roman emperor's villa found... in Nottinghamshire

Archaeologists believe they have discovered a granite column that once formed part of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius' estate - at a country park in Nottinghamshire.

The column is thought to date back to 150AD, but it now stands in the heart of Rufford Abbey Country Park, which is visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year.

A pink granite column previously thought to be a piece of public art, has now been identified as part of a porch-type structure in the grounds of a villa in Lanuvium (now Lanuvio, near Rome), which belonged to Emperor Pius, who succeeded Emperor Hadrian and ruled between 138AD and 161AD.

Emily Gillott and Lorraine Horsley are archaeologists from Nottinghamshire County Council, and they have been studying the Abbey grounds, which was once the home of 19th Century archaeologist and philanthropist, Lord John Savile.

Last summer, they were excavating for medieval remains, and a chance comment from a visiting conservationist as they explored the garden led to their discovery.

The column is now four feet tall and became covered in algae over time.

But after inspecting it, Emily and Lorraine found a discreet shipping mark, which helped them determine that it had been excavated in Rome and sent back to the UK by Lord Savile.

Lord Savile had in fact carried out multiple excavations in Rome, and shipped back a number of items between the 1880s and 1890s, donating to various museums. But the archaeologists now believe some of the treasures he unearthed remain at the Rufford Abbey estate.

The column is now set in concrete in the ground but it was once up for auction in 1938 when the Saviles sold the estate.

Photographs of the lots at the auction show the column has a bronze bust of the Goddess Juno on top of it.

Emily and Lorraine think the bust shown in the photograph was a replica of a damaged bust Lord Savile found in Rome. The bust was sold at the auction, but the column was not.