Lavish Roman mosaic is biggest found in London for 50 years

Archaeologists excavating near London Bridge have discovered the largest Roman mosaic to have been unearthed in 50 years. Dating back to the Roman period when the city was called Londinium, it was in the shadow of the Shard skyscraper that archaeologists made what they are calling a “once-in-a-lifetime” discovery.

A report in The Guardian says the mosaic served as a floor inside a triclinium, which was a venue for high-ranking Roman officials to enjoy luxury foods and drinks while chilling on lavish furniture.

When the Romans invaded England in 43 AD they first landed on the south coast of Kent. From here they sailed up the River Thames and built a settlement and bridge on the north bank where the waterway became narrower.

This is the site of the city’s iconic London Bridge. Having created a port, a network of paved streets and lush stone buildings with mosaic floors they named the settlement Londinium, which would later serve as the administrative capital of Britannia, the Roman name for Britain.

The site is located near the Shard (also referred to as the Shard of Glass), a 72-storey skyscraper that was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano in Southwark, London. It is thought to have been a staging post for travelers entering or leaving Roman London on the north side of the Thames.

Antonietta Lerz, of the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) said the mosaic, which measures eight meters (26 ft) long, was constructed during the late second century to the early third century AD.

The flowers and geometric patterns on the London mosaic are all still intact and they will be lifted later this year to be preserved, and will eventually be exhibited to the public in London.

David Neal is an expert in Roman mosaics . According to Archaeology News Network , Neal said the design of the larger panel was created by a highly-skilled team of mosaicists known as the Acanthus. 

Colorful flowers surrounded by twisted-rope designs are set within a red tessellated floor. Opus tessellatum , in case you are struggling, is the act of covering any surface with a pattern of repeated shapes that fit together without any overlapping or gaps.

The triclinium is thought to have belonged to a Roman mansio and the mosaic was located centrally within a large complex around a central courtyard.

In the Roman Empire, a mansio (place to stay) was an official lodging on a Roman road that was managed by the central government for the use of state officials while travelling to and from Londinium.

Apart from this large Roman mosaic discovered in London , a second large Roman building was unearthed nearby the first in which “lavishly painted walls, terrazzo and mosaic floors , coins and jewelry” were found.

A decorated bronze brooch, a bone hairpin and a sewing needle all informed the MOLA archaeologists that this was the private residence of a wealthy individual or family.

Lerz said all of these finds belonged to “high-status women” who were apparently adhering to the latest “fashions and hairstyles.”

Lers continued to explain that the mosaic was created in “the heyday of Roman London when people were living the good life.”

The mosaic was created 200 years after the famous 61 AD uprising of the Iceni tribe, led by Queen Boudicca , which burnt Londinium to the ground resulting in the death of 30,000 Londoners.

According to Project Britain , with the rebellion quashed Londinium was rebuilt over the next two decades and the population rocketed up to 60,000.

For the next 300 years Londinium represented the largest city in the Roman outpost of Britannia. The main fort was located where the Barbican Center now stands, and a forum (market) and amphitheater are still buried below the Guildhall and Basilica (business center).

But perhaps the Romans greatest architectural achievement was the huge defensive wall they erected around the entire city, to protect the high class elites from further native invasions while they ate and drank the spoils of their invasion.

Skeletons Found Near Dead Sea Scrolls Likely Belonged to an Enigmatic Religious Group

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls is regarded as one of the greatest archaeological finds in history. Almost as interesting as the content of the texts themselves has been the question of who created and cared for them.

A recent analysis of skeletons found near the site and dating to the same time period suggests the common assumption of an enigmatic religious group known as the Essenes may be correct.

The belief that people living in Qumran at the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls creation were members of a celibate Jewish sect called the Essenes is one of the earliest and also the most popular.

These men were said to be the creators or caretakers of the famed scrolls. However, IBTimes notes Bedouin herders, craftsmen, and Roman soldiers have also been proposed as possible inhabitants of Qumran at that time.

ScienceNews reports that a recent evaluation of 33 skeletons buried at Qumran supports the popular belief that the community was comprised of religious men. The analysis focused on examining physical factors, including pelvic shape and body sizes, and concluded that it is highly probable only men and children were present at the site.

Three of the skeletons could not be identified as male or female. This is a change from the previous assessment that seven of the skeletons were female.

Radiocarbon dating of one of the Qumran skeleton’s bones places the body at approximately 2,200 years old. This is close to the time when the Dead Sea Scrolls are estimated to have been written – 150 BC to 70 AD.

The estimated age of death for the men ranged from around 20 to 50 years old. The lack of war-related injuries goes against the soldier hypothesis. Anthropologist Yossi Nagar of the Israel Antiquities Authority in Jerusalem said that the men cannot be confirmed as Essenes, but the belief is probable.

Judaism that left Jerusalem in protest against the Romans and the way things were happening at the Temple. They apparently went into the desert to follow the orders of the prophet Isaiah. This religious group has often been linked to the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Small samples of bone were removed from some of the Qumran skeletons, so there is a chance that researchers could try to complete DNA analysis and perhaps find more clear evidence of who the people living near the Dead Sea Scrolls were. However, Nagar is uncertain if this type of study will be completed.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 11 caves at Qumran between 1947 and 1956. The set of nearly 1000 manuscripts provide some of the earliest versions of the Hebrew Bible. 

A 12th cave was discovered in February 2017, but only scroll jars, fragments of scroll wrappings, and a piece of worked leather were discovered.

The first Dead Sea Scrolls were found unintentionally by a Bedouin shepherd at a cave in the vicinity of Qumran. As more texts surfaced over the years, several were put on sale on the black market to private buyers.

This issue led the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Heritage Project to excavate in the Judean Desert Caves in 2016 at the Cave of Skulls – a difficult location to reach. Israel Hasson, director-general of the Israel Antiquities Authority, explained the urgency to find the last Dead Sea Scrolls.

Archaeologists Uncover an Ancient Roman Game Board at Hadrian’s Wall

The cracked stone board was likely used to play ludus latrunculorum, Rome’s favorite game.

Life in the Roman legions is often presented as constant excitement, with endless military campaigns subduing people throughout Europe and the Near East. But the truth is Roman soldiers had down time.

As evidenced by a gridded gaming board recently uncovered during excavations of Hadrian’s Wall, a 73-mile-long fortification in what’s now northern England that once delineated the northern frontier of the Roman Empire, soldiers played games to pass the time.

Tony Henderson at Chronicle Live reports that the cracked stone game board was uncovered late last month while archaeologists excavated a third century building behind the bath house at Vindolanda, one of 14 forts along Hadrian’s Wall. It’s believed that the board was likely used in the bath house, but was repurposed as a floor stone in the adjacent building after it was broken.

It’s unknown how the board was cracked, but a spokesperson for the site tells Henderson it could be a colorful story. “You can almost picture the losing Roman tipping the board up in frustration, causing it to break,” he says.

This is not the only game board found at Vindolanda. Five other boards dating from the third to fifth centuries have been found along with glass and stone gaming tokens.

Construction of Hadrian’s Wall began in 122 A.D. at Roman emperor Hadrian’s behest and took six years to complete. It was the northernmost border of the Roman Empire until 138 A.D., when the emperor Antoninus Pius abandoned it and built a turf wall about 100 miles to the north.

Twenty years later, the Romans had to fall back to Hadrian’s Wall due to attacks by Caledonian tribes. The forts along Hadrian’s Wall were then occupied by Roman forces until around 400 A.D.

So what were soldiers on the frontier playing to pass the time? The grid on the stone is for a game called ludus latrunculorum, translated from Latin as “the game of mercenaries.” While archaeologists have found game boards and pieces at sites all across the Roman Empire, they have yet to figure out exactly how the game is played.

The website Ancient Games reports that ludus is first mentioned in the second century B.C. by the writer Varro who noted that it was a game played on a grid. A poem by an anonymous writer from the first century A.D. provides some details, including the fact that players captured each other’s pieces, moving backward and forward on the board.

Roman poet Ovid reveals that pieces were captured by surrounding an opposing piece with two game tokens. The game appears to be a more sophisticated variation of checkers, but we can only speculate on the official rules of the game.

That hasn’t prevented some game lovers from trying to develop rules from the little we know, and there are even some commercial versions available.

The game board is not the only recent news from Vindolanda, which has been excavated by the Vindolanda Trust since 1970. In that time, researchers have found thousands of artifacts from legionaries, including rare items made of wood and leather that have survived in the area’s mucky, oxygen-free soil.

Most famously, in 1973, archaeologists dug up hundreds of well-preserved wooden writing tablets that give insight into life at the camp for the average soldier as well as information on how the garrison was administered.

The notes include requests for commanders to send their soldiers more beer, a letter from one entrepreneurial civilian brother to another about making some cash off the soldiers, a birthday invitation and a request for a promotion, among other topics.

 Last year, diggers found two sets of rare hipposandals, or iron objects used on the feet of horses, that recently went on display at the site’s Roman Army Museum. It’s not known if they are temporary horseshoes or some sort of restraint. They also found a strange, child-size bronze hand, which was likely part of a cult ritual.

There will undoubtedly be more cool finds, and maybe more game boards. Vindolanda researchers have only excavated about 25 percent of the site. At the current pace, it will take 150 years to unearth the entire area.

2,000-Year-Old Roman Road Uncovered in British Field is Like No Other–And of ‘Global Importance’

Workmen have uncovered a suspected Roman road in a field dating back 2,000 years that could be the only one of its kind in Britain and of ‘world importance.’

Archeologists say the cobbled ford uncovered in Worcestershire could be the finest Roman example of its type in the UK. In fact, the only existing roads in such a state of preservation are found in Pompeii and Rome.

The stretch, measuring 32-ft by 9.6 feet wide (10 x 2.9 meter), was discovered during routine utility work by Severn Trent Water a few weeks ago in an area called Evesham.

The exact location of the discovery is being concealed but it was found by a river where a Roman-era villa complex was previously uncovered four years ago.

Excavations are now taking place to find out more about the site, but experts say everything points to it being a genuine Roman structure—built 1,900 years ago.

“At the moment everything is ticking the boxes for it to be Roman but it still feels too good to be true so we are keeping an open mind,” said Aidan Smyth, archeology officer from Wychavon District Council where the water works were being dug, adding that seeing it first hand “took his breath away.”

The owners of the property contacted Wychavon District Council and a team from Historic England is now expected to analyze the excavations.

The road is a ‘ford,’ or a small river crossing, and also has ruts in the stones indicating it was was used by carts for a long time.

“If it is a first-century Roman feature it is the only one of its kind to be found in Britain to date,” said Smith, who noted no one was building roads like this during the Medieval Period.

“If it was to be a Roman feature, with its only comparisons in Rome and Pompeii, you could argue it’s of world importance, not just of national importance. The stonework is absolutely perfect.”

Smith explains in the video below how the Romans were the only road builders to ever build their roads like they built walls. During excavations Smith explains the team found “batted” stone curbs, meaning to be laid at a steep angle rather than vertically. They were made of a different stone than the flat cobbles passersby would walk upon.

“Now I’ve lots of evidence in this part of Evesham for Medieval batted stone walls, my problem is I’ve not got anything Roman to compare it with,” Smith said. “So it’s not that it isn’t Roman, it just could have a Medieval phase to it.”

‘Miraculously’ Well-Preserved Ceremonial Chariot Found at Villa Outside of Pompeii

The carriage’s intricate decorations include metal medallions depicting satyrs, nymphs and cupids

Archaeologists found the vehicle near the stable of a Roman dwelling in Civita Giuliana, a suburb about a half mile northwest of Pompeii. Featuring a seat with metal armrests and backrests, it was supported by four iron wheels and boasted ornate decorations, including bronze and tin medallions depicting satyrs, nymphs and cupids.

Incredibly, notes the Archaeological Park of Pompeii in a statement, the chariot was recovered completely intact, “spared by both the collapse of the [surrounding room’s] walls and ceiling” during Mount Vesuvius’ onslaught and looters’ more recent construction of illegal tunnels. Officials even found imprints of ropes and mineralized wooden pieces nearby.

“This is an extraordinary discovery that advances our understanding of the ancient world,” Massimo Osanna, interim director of the park, tells Reuters.

The chariot is the first of its kind unearthed in its entirety, reports Colleen Barry for the Associated Press (AP). Though experts have previously discovered vehicles used for everyday activities like transportation, the recently found example was too ornate for such purposes. Instead, the team speculates that ancient Romans used it for festivals, parades, weddings and other ceremonial events.

“I was astounded,” Eric Poehler, an archaeologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who specializes in the traffic of Pompeii, tells Becky Sullivan of NPR.

“Many of the vehicles I’d written about before … are your standard station wagon or vehicle for taking the kids to soccer. This is a Lamborghini. This is an outright fancy, fancy car.”

Excavations at Civita Giuliana began in 2017 in response to the discovery of illicit activity, including looters’ creation of a more than 250-foot network of tunnels.

“The fight against the looting of archaeological sites, both inside and outside the urban area of ancient Pompeii, is certainly one of the primary objectives,” says Chief Prosecutor of Torre Annunziata Nunzio Fragliasso in a press video, as quoted by Valentina Di Donato and Eoin McSweeney of CNN.

Luckily, notes the AP, the looters’ tunneling just missed the newly discovered cart, “grazing but not damaging [it].”

In 2022, excavations at the stable across from the double-level portico where the chariot was stored revealed the well-preserved remains of three horses, including one that was still saddled and harnessed.

Another major find made at Civita Giuliana came to light last November, when researchers discovered the remains of a wealthy man of 30 or 40 and a younger enslaved man, both eerily frozen in their final death throes.

For now, reports CNN, the carriage is undergoing cleaning at the archaeological park’s laboratory. Restoration and reconstruction will follow.

Pyroclastic flows and poisonous fumes killed around 2,000 people in Pompeii and the neighboring city of Herculaneum. Inadvertently preserved by the volcano’s ash and pumice, the city’s ruins have fascinated researchers for hundreds of years, with the first systematic excavations of the site taking place in the mid-18th century.

Since 2022, the Great Pompeii Project, an ongoing conservation initiative funded largely by the European Union, has unearthed a stunning array of treasures, from a snack bar that served snails and fish to a sorceress’ kit. To date, experts have exhumed about two thirds of the 165-acre settlement, according to Reuters.

“[The chariot] is precisely the kind of find that one wants to find at Pompeii, the really well-articulated, very well-preserved moments in time,” Osanna tells NPR. “And it happens to be in this case an object that is relatively rare despite its ubiquity in the past.”