Tiles of the unexpected
Roman mosaic not seen for 1,700 years found in a Berkshire field ... and now it’s going to be reburied!
UNVEILED some 1,700 years after it was made, this Roman mosaic could be one of Britain’s most exciting archaeological discoveries.
The ancient artwork, uncovered in a Berkshire village, could be one of just three mosaics of its kind in the world, experts have said.
The tiled floor, from the 4th century AD, tells the story of Pelops, a grandson of the Greek god Zeus.
The tale is laid out like a cartoon strip on what used to be the floor of a Roman villa complex.
At 20ft-long, it was first discovered in Boxford in 2017 and has now been painstakingly cleaned with toothbrushes and sponges as part of a community archaeology project.
Stashes of metal, including tools, hooks and earrings, were also found in the surrounding walls.
The Romano-British mosaic opened to the public on Saturday but will now be carefully reburied because of its location on private arable farming land.
Archaeologist Matt Nichol, from the dig, described the find as ‘second to none’ in terms of imagery and iconography. ‘It’s been quite overwhelming, not just for me but everyone involved... There’s a real buzz and excitement on this project,’ he added.
The Roman villa itself was first discovered in 1870, but no mention of the tessellated pavement was made in the Victorian report. A brown pipe has even been laid on the site at some point, narrowly avoiding the bulk of the work.
Joy Appleton, from the Boxford History Project, said: ‘It’s absolutely beyond our expectations. We now know it’s a unique mosaic but to find it here in little old Boxford is quite something... There’s nothing like it at all in Roman Britain.’ Despite its popularity in other parts of Europe, mosaic making was unknown in Britain before the Roman conquest.
A Mediterranean art form, the earliest mosaic pavements in Britain were made by foreign craftsmen, most likely Greeks.
Roman architecture expert Anthony Beeson explained that the pavement shows Bellerophon, son of Poseidon, who is often shown on the back of the winged horse Pegasus. However, the main action in the myth focuses on Pelops and his race to win the hand of the Princess Hippodamia.
‘The king Oenomaus having been told that his future son-inlaw would bring about his death, made all contestants race him in a chariot but handicapped them by putting the princess in the vehicle with them’, Mr Beeson explained.
‘Pelops persuaded a former lover Myrtilus, [also] the king’s chariot master, to substitute a wax lynch pin and the king was killed when the wheels flew off. Pelops thereby won but killed Myrtilus who cursed his lineage and brought about the curse of the Pelops.’
Britain has around 800 examples of mosaics of varying size, quality and age.
In Roman times, the quality and number of mosaics in a person’s home expressed how wealthy they were. Some of the most impressive Roman mosaics in the country can be found in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.