Eagle Standard found in UK long ago?

[jkaler48]

Any truth to this?
Kevin Macdonald about his movie: "Yes absolutely, they would brush it under the covers, that’s what any culture would do, isn’t it? You’ve had this shameful loss, your going to try and forget it as soon as possible, your not going to memorialize it, that’s for sure. It remains a mystery. The interesting thing is that the book is based on two facts or possible facts. One is the disappearance of the Ninth, the other is that in the 1920’s a Roman Eagle was dug up in England and it had had its wings shorn off and decorated with Celtic symbols. So this Eagle that was found, the author saw this in the museum and said, “how did it get there?” and that’s what set their imagination ticking."

[Robert Vermaat]

No.

Well... yeah, a bit.

Rosemary Sutcliff, author of 'the Eagle of the Ninth', could not know that the eagle found in Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester), now in the Reading museum, was not the legionary eagle which it was once thought to be. She wote the book thinking that it was, and later altered the story (the Silver Branch) when archaeology revealed that it was not found under a villa (as once thought), but under the basilica.

The thinking at the time was, well, "only one eagle lost in Britain, it HAS to be the eagle of the Ninth legion".

However, the eagle itself was later identified as a common sculpture, not a legionary eagle.

Any subsequent attempts to go back to pre-1950s thinking is useless, even more so when you want to do that in order to promote your movie.
I fear that this movie, based on a great book notwithstanding (but a young adult novel), will not do much to dispend with the legend of the 'lost Legion in Britain'.. :-(

The 'facts' of the clipped wings/added Celtic symbols' is nonsense.

[Vincula]

the wings are missing. theres a picture here: http://antoninuspius.blogspot.com/ (my favorite blog)

[Robert Vermaat]

the wings are missing. theres a picture here: http://antoninuspius.blogspot.com/ (my favorite blog)

Ah yes, I was not clear on that. i meant that they were not replaced by celtic symbols.

And I share your opinion on that blog!

[Matthew Amt]

Kevin MacDonald clearly knows nothing about history, nor does he care. It's a movie! Everything you see in a movie wrong, and Hollywood goes to enormous effort and expense to make it that way. Shouldn't this thread be in Off-Topic?

Matthew