Inghilterra: il primo mosaico romano a rappresentare l’Iliade

[ARES III]

 

Il primo mosaico romano a rappresentare l’Iliade scoperto in una campo in Inghilterra 

Nelle Midlands orientali, precisamente a Rutland, un’incredibile scoperta desta stupore negli archeologi dell’Università di Leicester. Si tratta del primo mosaico romano a rappresentare scene dell’Iliade trovato sul suolo inglese. Oltre ciò, a impressionare è anche l’immensità dell’opera, trovata sotto il terreno di un contadino.

Si tratterebbe, secondo gli esperti, del pavimento decorato di un grande luogo di ristorazione in un complesso di ville. Significa solo una cosa: il proprietario del mosaico era a dir poco facoltoso. L’opera costò sicuramente una fortuna e il suo valore artistico è elevatissimo anche oggi.

 

Il mosaico rappresenterebbe l’eroe greco Achille e dunque dimostra una conoscenza della letteratura greca di cui fare sfoggio davanti agli ospiti più illustri da parte di chi lo fece edificare. Purtroppo però, almeno in questo caso, il tempo non è stato galantuomo. Sul mosaico si trovano infatti segni di danni causati da successivi lavori e tracce di incendi e bruciature.

Ciò non diminuisce l’importanza dell’opera d’arte, considerata la scoperta più importante nel suo genere nell’ultimo secolo. Il sito è oggi infatti protetto dal governo britannico ed i lavori continuano. Emergono infatti anche dei resti umani che portano verso conoscenze anche di periodi diversi da quello romano.

 

Dall’analisi di questi infatti emerge che, probabilmente in epoca tardo romana o medievale, il sito non avesse più il suo aspetto ricercato e ricco di un tempo. Probabilmente, come accadde ad altre strutture arcaiche nel corso della storia, anche questa subì un riadattamento.

Tornando al mosaico invece, sappiamo che questo misura 7×11 metri e che si trovava molto in profondità. Fu il figlio del proprietario del terreno a individuare dei cocci di ceramica che destarono il suo interesse e a chiamare chi di competenza. Per fortuna gli archeologi lo hanno recuperato e noi possiamo godere di questa grande bellezza di epoca romana.

https://www.storiachepassione.it/il-primo-mosaico-romano-a-rappresentare-liliade-scoperto-in-una-campo-in-inghilterra/

Homer's The Iliad – amazing Roman mosaic found in Rutland

 

Drone photography, aerial view of the mosaic pavement. (c) University of Leicester Archaeological Services

This amazing discovery was found during the 2020 lockdown by Jim Irvine, the son of the landowner. When the mosaic was initially partially uncovered, the archaeological team at Leicestershire County Council, who are the archaeological advisors to Rutland County Council were contacted for advice.

With the exceptional nature of the discovery, Historic England was able to secure funding for urgent archaeological investigations of the site by ULAS in August 2020.  

Further excavation involving staff and students from the University of Leicester’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History took place in September 2021. This excavation exposed the entire mosaic which measures 11m by almost 7m and it depicts the story of the Greek hero Achillies in 3 separate scenes.  

• The bottom panel of the mosaic. Achilles (left) and Hector duelling on chariots. © University of Leicester Archaeological Services
• The middle panel of the mosaic. The defeated Hector is dragged by Achilles in his chariot. © University of Leicester Archaeological Services
• The top panel of the mosaic. The body of Hector is returned to his father King Priam (right) in exchange for his weight in gold. © University of Leicester Archaeological Services

 

With the extent of the site now known, it has been protected as a Scheduled Monument by the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) with the advice from Historic England.

The artwork forms the floor of what is thought to be a large dining or entertaining area. Mosaics were used in a variety of private and public buildings across the Roman Empire, and often featured famous figures from history and mythology. However, the Rutland mosaic is unique in the UK in that it features Achilles and his battle with Hector at the conclusion of the Trojan War and is one of only a handful of examples from across Europe.

The room is part of a large villa building occupied in the late Roman period, between the 3^rd and 4^th century AD. The villa is also surrounded by a range of other buildings and including what appear to be aisled barns, circular structures and a possible bath house, all within a series of boundary ditches. The complex is likely to have been occupied by a wealthy individual, with a knowledge of classical literature.

Fire damage and breaks in the mosaic suggest that the site was later re-used and re-purposed. Other evidence uncovered includes the discovery of human remains within the rubble covering the mosaic. These burials are thought to have been interred after the building was no longer occupied, and while their precise age is currently unknown, they are later than the mosaic but placed in a relationship to the villa building, suggesting a very late Roman or Early-Medieval date for the repurposing of this structure. Their discovery gives an insight into how the site may have been used during this relatively poorly understood early post-Roman period of history.

Evidence recovered from the site will be analysed by ULAS at their University of Leicester base, and by specialists from Historic England and across the UK, including David Neal, the foremost expert on mosaic research in the country.

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You can now listen to a talk on The Rutland Roman Villa Project with Jennifer Browning – YouTube (organised by Leicestershire Fieldworkers) on YouTube. The talk took place online on Thursday 2nd December 2021

https://rutlandcountymuseum.org.uk/homers-the-iliad-amazing-roman-mosaic-found-in-rutland/

Unique Achilles mosaic found in Rutland

 

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mosaic-revealed-182x300.jpgAn exceptional mosaic depicting scenes from the clash between Achilles and Hector at the end of the Trojan War has been unearthed at Rutland in the East Midlands. It is one of only a handful of mosaics with this motif known to survive and the rest are on continental Europe. This is the first mosaic depicting Achilles and Hector ever discovered in the UK.

The presence of the mosaic was first discovered last year by Jim Irvine on a family walk on his father’s land. He saw some Roman pottery fragments in a wheat field. When he examined satellite imagery of the spot, he saw a cropmark delineating a building beneath the surface. A little digging revealed a small section of a mosaic. Irvine notified Leicestershire County Council and county archaeologists followed up, excavating a small trench to get a better idea of the mosaic beneath the surface. They were able to determine that the mosaic was in good condition and was figural with people, horses and chariots.

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Detail-of-Hectors-body-200x133.jpgThat type of complex figural imagery is rare in Britain, and experts from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services were enlisted to document the mosaic exposed in the trench in August 2020. The trench was then expanded, revealing additional figures that identified the mosaic as containing scenes from the Trojan War. After a year of lockdown and fieldwork backlog, archaeologists and students from the University of Leicester’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History returned to the site this September to excavate the full mosaic floor.

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Hector-vs.-Achilles-200x91.jpgIt is enormous, 36 feet by 23 feet, and was likely a grand dining room. Within a guilloche pattern border are three comic-book style panels showing the clash between Greek hero Achilles and Prince Hector of Troy. The top panels depicts the chariot battle between Achilles and Hector. The middle panel shows Achilles dragging http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Achilles-dragging-Hectors-body-200x93.jpgHector’s corpse behind his chariot while Hector’s father, King Priam, begs Achilles to return the body for proper burial. The third panel features the exchange of Hector’s body for its weight in gold. A Trojan servant balances a huge scale on his shoulders with Hector’s corpse on one side and a bowl of gold on the other. Priam adds more gold vessels to meet the ransom requirement.

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Body-exchanged-for-gold-200x97.jpgThis last panel proves that the source was not actually The Iliad, because Homer’s account of the death of Hector has Priam ransoming the body with a cart full of rich gifts after he begs Achilles to think of his own father and have mercy. Before that plea softened his heart, Achilles had said he would never give the body back not even for its weight in gold. The story of the scale with Hector’s body on one side and a pile of gold on the other comes from a lost play by Aeschylus (Phrygians, or the Ransom of Hector) now known only from marginalia and fragments.

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Overhead-view-of-excavation-200x133.jpgThe room was part of a large villa in use between the 3rd and 4th century. While only the mosaic room and another building next to it have been excavated so far, geophysical surveys have found numerous outbuildings — barns, a circular structure, a possible bath house. It was probably the villa of a wealthy, classically educated individual. Fire damage and later burials indicate the villa was reused after it was abandoned.

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Detail-of-Priam-and-attendant-200x133.jpgThe mosaic is highly detailed, and specific features show that it is the work of highly skilled mosaicists.  The range of colours used, the attention to fine detail and the way that some figures transgress the guilloche boundaries suggest that this presumably high status floor may have been sourced from an illuminated manuscript that was in the possession of the villa owner. It also raises the possibility that this person had an understanding of the classics and wanted to share that knowledge with their friends and guests.

[ARES III]

Detail of Hectors body

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/62755