Dig season was coming to a close when amateur archaeologists in southeast England made one of their most important discoveries to date: a Roman mosaic, dating back more than 1,000 years.
Since 2015, the dig led by the Boxford History Project and the Berkshire Archaeology Research Group has brought together local archaeology enthusiasts and professional archaeologists. The team's work has focused on three Roman sites near the small village of Boxford.
But when the first, vibrant colors of the mosaic poked through the broken dirt of the excavation site, "I was stunned into silence," said the leader of the Boxford History Project, Joy Appleton, in an interview with the New York Times. Anthony Beeson, a member of the Association for Roman Archaeology, initially thought it might be a hoax.
"It was so unlike anything that has ever turned up in this country," he said in an interview with science news outlet Live Science. Luckily for Appleton and Beeson, the mosaic was not a hoax but instead a glimpse into life in Britain underancientRoman rule.
The mosaic itself is large, measuring just over 19 feet long. So far, only one side of the panel has been revealed by excavators, but characters and beasts from Roman myths can be clearly seen. Initial studies of the scene depicted on the mosaic reveal it shows the mythological character Bellerophon at the court of characters believed to be either Lobates or Proteus.
At the bottom of the mosaic is a creature known as the chimera, which had a lion's head, a goat's torso, a serpent's tail, and breathed fire. In Greek legends, Bellerophon was sent to kill the chimera, and the scene depicts the creature ready to attack. The mosaic may also depict the Greek hero Hercules fighting with a centaur.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/09/ancient-roman-mosaic-discovered-video-spd/
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/02/rare-roman-mosaic-found-berkshire-archaeology-project-boxford
Since 2015, the dig led by the Boxford History Project and the Berkshire Archaeology Research Group has brought together local archaeology enthusiasts and professional archaeologists. The team's work has focused on three Roman sites near the small village of Boxford.
But when the first, vibrant colors of the mosaic poked through the broken dirt of the excavation site, "I was stunned into silence," said the leader of the Boxford History Project, Joy Appleton, in an interview with the New York Times. Anthony Beeson, a member of the Association for Roman Archaeology, initially thought it might be a hoax.
"It was so unlike anything that has ever turned up in this country," he said in an interview with science news outlet Live Science. Luckily for Appleton and Beeson, the mosaic was not a hoax but instead a glimpse into life in Britain underancientRoman rule.
The mosaic itself is large, measuring just over 19 feet long. So far, only one side of the panel has been revealed by excavators, but characters and beasts from Roman myths can be clearly seen. Initial studies of the scene depicted on the mosaic reveal it shows the mythological character Bellerophon at the court of characters believed to be either Lobates or Proteus.
At the bottom of the mosaic is a creature known as the chimera, which had a lion's head, a goat's torso, a serpent's tail, and breathed fire. In Greek legends, Bellerophon was sent to kill the chimera, and the scene depicts the creature ready to attack. The mosaic may also depict the Greek hero Hercules fighting with a centaur.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/09/ancient-roman-mosaic-discovered-video-spd/
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/02/rare-roman-mosaic-found-berkshire-archaeology-project-boxford
