Sheldonian Theatre, stone heads, Emperor Heads, The, Oxford Emperors, or, The ,Twelve Apostles, with glasses, Broad St, Oxford,England, UK

Sitting atop stone columns marking the northern boundary of the Sheldonian Theatre, at the eastern end of Broad Street, is one of Oxford's most peculiar historic attractions; a row of 17 busts of men known as the Emperor Heads, The Oxford Emperors, or, sometimes The Twelve Apostles. The first mention of the busts as Emperor Heads came in 1911 in the novel Zuleika Dobson, by Max Beerbohm. Despite the name, the busts do not represent ancient emperors, nor, indeed, anyone in particular.