The Calne Fates
A Romano-British relief sculpture found during building work at St Mary's School, Calne, around 1990; the block had been used in the foundations of a summerhouse next to St. Prisca's Schoolhouse, but its significance was not realised until much later. Although resembling the three Matres (mothers), which are commonly depicted in Romano-British sculpture, these figures have been identified by the Rev. Professor Martin Henig as the three Fates, based on their attributes. The figure on the left is Klotho, who holds her distaff from which she spins her thread, in the centre is Atropos holding her scales, and Lachesis reads from a scroll on the right. The fates measure, weigh and judge a human life respectively, and Henig suggests that the frieze was probably originally part of a funerary monument of the latter second century.
The stone has been examined macroscopically and sampled for thin-section analysis by Dr Kevin Hayward FSA, who identifies the source of the stone as being the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) Limestone scarp centred on Box, 10-12km west of the find spot. Whilst local sources of similar stone were available, the outcrop at Box is of a higher quality and is better suited to more intricate carvings.
Map

Field Collection
Date: 1990
Method: Chance Find
Parish: Calne
County: Wiltshire
Site name: St. Mary's School
Context: -
Grid reference: SU000710
Description
Material: Stone
Details
DZSWS:2017.4
Simple Name: Sculpture
Other name: frieze
Full name: relief
Classification: Archaeology, Roman
References
Henig, M.
2018
A newly-discovered relief depicting the three Fates, from Calne, Wiltshire
Association of Roman Archaeology News
39
41–2