Year-long silence lifted on historic find
HOW EXPERTS KEPT THE NEWS-HUNGRY 21st CENTURY AT BAY WHEN AN ANCIENT ROMAN MOSAIC WAS DISCOVERED IN A FARMER’S FIELD IN RUTLAND
AN ANCIENT mosaic discovered in a farmer’s field in Rutland is being described as the most exciting find of its kind in the past century.
It was announced yesterday that the mosaic dates back to the lateRoman period, between the third and fourth centuries AD. It depicts a decisive encounter of the Trojan War, with Greek hero Achilles battling with Trojan prince Hector.
University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS), who were involved in the excavation with several of their students, have had to keep the remarkable discovery out of the public domain for the past year.
John Thomas, deputy director of ULAS and project manager on the excavations, said they uncovered a third of the mosaic last year and had an idea of what the story depicted but had not yet uncovered the figure of Achilles.
He said: “We really wanted to share this with lots of people but we thought if we go out with this story but people can’t see Achilles then it would be slightly odd.
“To work on something of this magnitude is just thrilling for all of us.
“I don’t know how we managed to keep it a secret. I’m really impressed that we’ve been able to keep it out of the spotlight for so long.
“I did look on the internet to see if there were any hints of it but there weren’t.
“Everyone was fantastic and professional about it and realised that it would spoil the big reveal if they came out with it.”
The mosaic had been hiding in a Roman villa complex and was first detected during the lockdown in 2020 by Jim Irvine, whose father, Brian Naylor, owns the land.
Mr Irvine said: “A ramble through fields with the family turned into an incredible discovery.
“Finding some unusual pottery amongst the wheat piqued my interest and prompted some further investigative work.
“Later, looking at the satellite imagery, I spotted a very clear crop mark as if someone had drawn on my computer screen with a piece of chalk.
“This really was the ‘oh wow’
A ramble through fields with the family turned into an incredible discovery.
Land owner’s son Jim Irvine
moment and the beginning of the story.”
The family then got in contact with Leicester County Council’s archaeological team, and due to the remarkable nature of the discovery, Historic England was able to secure funding for an urgent investigation of the site.
ULAS also got involved by undergoing an initial investigation of the area before excavation took place by staff and students from the university’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History.
Their excavation effort paid off as they uncovered the mosaic in September. It measures 11m by 7m (36ft x 23ft) and painstakingly depicts the tumultuous scene from Homer’s The Iliad.
The Rutland mosaic is an important discovery. It is thought the artwork would have formed the floor or a large dining or entertaining area in the villa of a wealthy family or individual.
Mosaics were used in private and public buildings across the Roman Empire and often featured figures from ancient history and mythology.
Mr Irvine said the fascinating discovery has filled most of his spare time over the last year.
He said: “The last year has been a total thrill to have been involved with and to work with the archaeologists and students at the site, and I can only imagine what will be unearthed next.”
Surrounding the uncovered dining area is a range of other buildings including what appears to be barns, circular structures and what might have been a bathhouse.
The site sits within a series of boundary ditches.
Human remains were also discovered among the rubble that covered the mosaic.
The remains are thought to have been buried there later in the building’s history, possibly in late Roman or early Medieval times, a relatively poorly understood period of history.
Archaeologist Mr Thomas, who is project manager on the excavations, said: “This is certainly the most exciting Roman mosaic discovery in the UK in the last century.
“It gives us fresh perspectives on the attitudes of people at the time, their links to classical literature, and it also tells us an enormous amount about the individual who commissioned this piece.
“This is someone with a knowledge of the classics, who had the money to commission a piece of such detail, and it’s the very first depiction of these stories that we’ve ever found in Britain.
“The fact that we have the wider context of the surrounding complex is also hugely significant because previous excavations on Roman villas have only been able to capture partial pictures of settlements like these.
“But this appears to be a very wellpreserved example of a villa in its entirety.”
Mr Thomas, who co-directed research excavations at Burrough Hill, the region’s best preserved Iron Age hillfort, and in 2013 directed excavation of an Iron Age settlement at Glenfield, predicted the latest discovery would be momentous in its scholarly impact.
He said: “I think it’s going to really revolutionise the way that people think about how people in Rome
and Britain interacted with the wider culture of the Roman empire.
“The classical stories would’ve been like our blockbusters from the cinema.”
The evidence recovered from the site will now be analysed by Historic England and ULAS specialists across the UK and there are already plans for further excavations next year.
Discussions are under way with Rutland County Council for a display of some of the recovered artefacts to take place away from the site.
Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “Discoveries like this are so important in helping us piece together our shared history.
“By protecting this site we are able to continue learning from it, and look forward to what future excavations may teach us about the people who lived there over 1,500 years ago.”
The site was yesterday granted protection as a scheduled monument by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England.
Heritage Minister Nigel Huddleston said: “This fascinating discovery of an elaborate Roman complex in Rutland is helping us to understand more about our history.
“I’m delighted we have protected this site to help further studies and excavations.”
■ The discovery of the Rutland villa will feature as part of BBC Two series Digging for Britain early next year.