Ancient Mosaics

Nel 1950 venne scavata una villa romana in loc. Su Loi a Capoterra (Cagliari). L’intervento d’emergenza è documentato
solo da uno schizzo e da 59 fotografie, ma grazie a queste ultime è stato possibile ricostruire la pianta
dell’edificio e avanzarne il posizionamento geografico.
In 1950 it was excavated a Roman villa in loc. Su Loi in Capoterra (Cagliari). The emergency intervention is documented
only by a sketch and from 59 photographs, but thanks to them it was possible to reconstruct the plan of the
building and avanzarne the geographic positioning.

Hadrianopolis is a site located on the principal western route from the Central Anatolian plain through the mountains to Bartın and the Black Sea, 3 km west of the modern town of Eskipazar, near Karabük, in what was in Roman times southwestern Paphlagonia (modern northwestern central Turkey). This site was a small but important city, controlling this major route and dominating a rich agricultural and especially vinicultural enclave on the borders between Paphlagonia, Bithynia and Galatia. Between 2005 and 2008, four survey, excavation and restoration campaigns were conducted at this Roman and early Byzantine site by Dokuz Eylül University in Izmir. As a result of the 2005 surveys of the area, it was confi rmed that Hadrianopolis was indeed coincident with Viranşehir, which is located c. 3 km west of modern Eskipazar and was active between the 1st cent. BC. and the 8th cent. AD. The fi eld surveys in 2005 identifi ed the remains of at least 24 buildings at the site. Among them are two bath buildings, two basilicas, a domus, an apsidal building, a fortifi ed structure of the Byzantine period, a possible theatre, a vaulted building, a domed building and some domestic buildings, most of which were paved with extensive mosaic floors. Following the publication of the inscriptions (Hadrianopolis I), glass (Hadrianopolis II), and pottery fi nds (Hadrianopolis III), the present volume IV of this multi-volume report is devoted to the early Byzantine mosaics and frescoes from this site, which have been dated mainly to the 6th and 7th cent. AD. The main find spots for mosaics and frescoes are Baths A, Baths B, Basilica A, Basilica B, the Apsidal Building and the Domus. One of the most remarkable discoveries was undoubtedly the floor mosaic of the nave of Basilica B, which displays personifi cations of the Four Rivers of Paradise: Euphrates, Tigris, Phison and Geon.

Exhibition Google Arts & Culture "The Mosaic of the Muses" https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/o-mosaico-das-musas-national-archaeology-museum/vwIiQmZJFCViIg?hl=pt-PT

This exhibition is the result of a joint initiative of the Centre for Classical Studies and the National Museum of Archaeology.

Excavations undertaken at Uşaklı Höyük in Turkey during 2018 revealed a mosaic stone floor associated with a large building of Hittite date. This unique discovery raises new questions about the origin of mosaic flooring in Near Eastern public architecture of this period.

PORTUGUÊS:
O presente texto decorre da nossa participação no Xº Colóquio Internacional da AIEMA, que teve lugar no Museu Monográfico de Conimbriga em 2005, e refere-se aos mosaicos romanos com motivos aquáticos encontrados no actual território português até então, datáveis de finais do século II d.C. até meados do século VI d.C.

ENGLISH:
This text results from our participation in the Xth AIEMA International Colloquium, that took place at Conimbriga's Monographic Museum in 2005, and focuses on the roman mosaics found in the Portuguese territory until then, dating from late 2nd century A.D. to middle 6th century A.D.

Glass mosaic decorations were used throughout the medieval Mediterranean as a powerful medium to convey religious and political agendas, yet we know next to nothing about the source of the materials and the transmission of the necessary technical know-how. Mosaics are generally considered a Byzantine art form, not least due to their prominence in Byzantine church architecture and because medieval Islamic textual sources assert that the glass tesserae of some of the most important early mosques were of Byzantine origin. This article provides solid analytical evidence that glass used in the tenth-century mosaics of the Great Umayyad Mosque of Córdoba (Spain) came from Byzantium. Most of the tesserae have high boron contents, for which the only compositional match are Byzantine glasses made with raw materials from Asia Minor. In addition, some of the glass has a chemical fingerprint that suggests that it was prepared by mixing local raw materials with imported high boron glass, indicative of local mosaic glassmaking. Our study thus illustrates the value of analytical studies in reassessing long-held assumptions about the making of mosaics as well as the movement of materials and people across cultural barriers. The presence of Byzantine materials and craftsmen in Córdoba demonstrates that Muslims and Christians were interacting the length of the Mediterranean, corroborating the close diplomatic ties between the Caliphate of Córdoba and the Byzantine Empire during the tenth century. Our findings further underscore the importance of glass in trade and diplomatic exchange, reflecting its cultural and economic value in the medieval world.

RESUMEN El artículo describe y realiza un primer estudio de las estructuras y los materiales de una villa romana recientemente excavada en Antequera. Entre ellos destacan el repertorio musivo y escultórico, de los que emerge la importancia del yacimiento.
SUMMARY The present article describes and attempts a first approach to the structures and materials from a recently discovered Roman Villa in Antequera. The Villa is particularly remarkable for its mosaics and sculptures, from which the importance of the site arises.

Inlaid with lapis lazuli, turquoise and malachite, the Pietra Dura work on the Taj Mahal is a testament to the beauty of this art form as well as its power to evoke emotion. Known locally as “Parchin Kari”, many who have come to personally see the Taj Mahal have also come to appreciate the detailed craftsmanship that has been poured into the inlaying of the majestic white marble. People have called the precise work on the marble as nothing short of an artistic phenomenon, knowing that it is able to add depth and richness to the entire monument and that it is able to seamlessly work together with all its architectural features.

Antik Dönem Hellen sanatında deniz ve nehir tanrıları önemli bir yer tutar.
Bu tanrı ve tanrıçalar ile ilgili sahneler, Roma Dönemi mozaiklerinde sevilerek konu edinilmiştir. Antiokheia ad Orontes ve Zeugma kentleri zemin mozaiklerinde Okeanos ve Tethys ile ilgili sahnelere rastlamaktayız. Hem bir deniz tanrısı olarak kabul edilen hem de yeryüzünü dört bir yandan saran bir nehir olduğuna inanılan Okeanos bir titandır. Onun eşi Tethys ise denizin verimliliğini simgeler ve bu figürün geç tarihli tasvirlerine Thalassa adı da verilir. Hellen mitolojisine göre Okeanos ve Tethys’in birleşmesinden binlerce nehir doğmuştur. Roma Dönemi ile birlikte deniz ve nehir tanrıları ikonografisi sanatta belirginleşir ve standart bir betimleme tarzına kavuşur. Bu tipik betimleme anlayışı zemin mozaiklerinde rahatlıkla takip edilebilmektedir.

This article surveys the history of Tell es-Samak, on the shores of Haifa, from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine periods. It focuses on archaeological and epigraphical evidence and on the historical sources that are key in depicting the settlement during these periods, and on proposing its identification as Porphyreon (South).
J. Elgavish conducted the main excavations at the site for 17 seasons, (1963–1979) exposing the strata from the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. The Byzantine period complexes were also excavated by other scholars, before Elgavish’s excavations and particularly after them. The recent excavations at the tell by S. Bar (2010–2012), and in
the area of the town to the south by Eisenberg were carried out in the framework of the University of Haifa expedition.
The renewed excavations unearthed mainly complexes from the Late Roman to the Byzantine periods and an attempt was made to integrate Elgavish’s conclusions and excavation results in an updated picture of the settlement at Tell es-Samak during these periods.
Analysis of the historiographic evidence, historical maps, integration of the archaeological data, the well-developed purple dye industry at the site, and finally, the magnitude of its Christian settlement during the Byzantine period, all reinforce the hypothesis that what we have here is
the Christian town of Porphyreon (South) and not Jewish Shikmona. The town reached its zenith during the Byzantine period, when it covered an area of approximately 80 dunams. Porphyreon was abandoned at the end of the 6th–early 7th centuries CE, apparently before the Persian conquest.

The use of the Garni royal bath mosaic elements as a core decoration
in stationery, book covers and bags.

The paper presents the scientific analysis, illustrated by appropriate examples, of how a tiny piece of Armenia’s cultural heritage (e.g. the mosaic in the Garni Royal Bath) proved possible to be converted to a core element of graphic design, used in a variety of printing and other materials for cultural events such as stationery, book cover and bags design.

Графическое применение частиц мозаики царской бани
храма Гарни в качестве основы для украшения канцелярских принадлежностей, книг и сумок.

В основе исследования представляется метод использования какого-нибудь строения, здания или какой-то их части, входящего в состав культурного
наследия, в качестве графической основы, для украшения печатных материалов, предназначенных для культурных мероприятий, канцелярских принадлежностей, обложек книг и сумок.

Գառնու տաճարի արքունական բաղնիքի խճանկա-
րի մասնիկների գրաֆիկական կիրառումը որպես գրենական պիտույքների,
գրքերի և պայուսակների ձևավորման հիմք

Հետազոտության հիմքում ներկայացվում է թե ինչպես կարելի է մշակութային ժառանգության մաս կազմող որևէ կառույց, շինություն կամ դրանց որևէ հատված օգտագործել որպես մշակութային միջոցառումների համար նախատեսված տպագրական նյութերի, գրենական պիտույքների, գրքի կազմերի և պայուսակների գրաֆիկական ձևավորման հիմք:

Ancient dwellings of elites in the Greek East provide an excellent base for studying the epigraphic habit in the private sphere.

A research project on “Inscriptions in the private Sphere in the Greek East” housed at the Austrian Academy of Sciences deals with all kinds of inscriptions on architectural elements, immobile and mobile furnishings as well as on the instrumentum domesticum. For the first time they are considered together in their archaeological and architectural context. Texts from dwellings do not only give us an insight into the daily life, but let us come close to the homeowners, their families, friends and guests.

The ancient city of Antioch – inconceivably rich in mosaic pavements – provides an excellent base for studying the inscriptions on them: From inscriptions we learn about the motivation and intention for their placing on pavements and can find out about the audience they aimed to. This leads to further questions about literacy as well as about the visibility/legibility of the texts.

The initiative of ARSAMER and especially their recent studies conducted on the pavements unearthed in modern Antakya as well as archive studies that help to relocate and re-contextualize Antioch mosaics are immensely valuable for any further research on ancient mosaics in the Greek East in general and particularly for the study of texts on pavements in the contexts of ancient housing.

They make us aware that mosaic pavements were not pieces of art on their own but integrative and in Late Antiquity main elements of interior decoration as well as important transmitters of ideas, philosophical concepts and messages.

The paper presents the life story of the Bees, a mosaic from the Roman town of Emona (modern Ljubljana), which was reworked in the 1930s in such a way as to give it new function and meaning in its new context. It is the opinion of the author that other examples of the reworking of Roman Emona in the 1930s suggest that this type of recycling and citation of the past, fused with a collage of modern elements, are part a wider phenomenon of referring to the highly prestigious, well respected ancient past of Emona in Ljubljana in this period.

De Vita, A., Simeti, S. & Volta, S. (2013) The conservation of the Neptune and Amphitrite wall mosaic at Herculaneum: an interdisciplinary partnership. In G. Biscontin & G. Driussi (eds) Conservazione e valorizzazione dei siti archeologici: approcci scientifici e problemi di metodo. Atti del Convegno di Studi Bressanone 9-12 luglio 2013. Scienza e Beni Culturali 29: 935-941.

La pieza que vamos a ver, el maravilloso mosaico de Alejandro, lo encontramos situado en la Casa del Fauno, casa que debe su nombre a la estatua de un fauno que encontramos en su impluvium-así se llama una especie de estanque rectangular destinado a recoger el agua de la lluvia situado en el patio (atrium) central de las casas romanas (domus) del tipo que encontramos en Pompeya. Esta imponente mansión, la más grande de Pompeya (Beard 2009: 45), se terminó de construir a finales del siglo II aC (Beard 2009: 47). En esta época Pompeya ya era aliada de Roma, lo fue desde inicios del siglo III aC (Beard 2009: 56), al tiempo que Roma consolidaba su poder en el Mediterráneo, formando un imperio que se extendía desde la península Ibérica, ocupaba el Adriático y Grecia hasta llegar a Asia Menor. Asimismo la admiración por Grecia crecía dentro de la sociedad romana, convirtiéndose en referente en su arte, las construcciones, etc. Pompeya, una ciudad de provincia que no destacaba especialmente en su época (Beard 2009: 66), tenía un destino catastrófico que a la vez la inmortalizó. El año 79 dC. a raíz de la erupción volcánica del Vesubio quedará inmortalizada, como si de una instantánea fotográfica se tratara, al ser sepultada por toneladas de sedimentos volcánicos. La vida quedó parada en ese momento para revivir en forma de hallazgo arqueológico.

The late Antique mosaic of Orpheus decorated a small room, approximately 18 m2 in area, connected with two even smaller ones, in 4 m2 and the other 2 m2 in area, belonging most likely to a small funerary chapel (or tomb) discovered in the ancient necropolis by the Damascene Gate in Jerusalem; it was discovered in 1901 by H. Vincent.
The author proposes a new interpretation of the iconographic program of the Orpheus myth used by wealthy Christians in a sepulchral context (see Olszewski M.T. «Orphée endeuillé de la mosaïque funéraire de Jérusalem», in Rey Mimoso-Ruiz, B. ed., Actes du colloque «Orphée entre Soleil et ombre», à l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse du 16 au 17 novembre 2007, Inter Lignes, numéros spécial – mars 2008, pp. 205-214, 226). He also proposes a new interpretation of the role Orpheus played in Roman funerary art, concentrating on the importance of the play on words and the visual and textual punning that was popular in ancient art and especially in funerary art. He rejects the popular interpretation of Orpheus as Christ in the Roman catacombs and proposes to interpret the image as that of Orpheus, bard of the departed souls, without any ahistorical connection with Christ. The program of the mosaic from Jerusalem is thus explained as a play on the words Orpheus-orphanos and Chiron (Chi-Rho) and Pan [Παν(τοκράτωρ)].The frequently used Christian funerary formula of resting in peace, Christ or the Lord corresponds
perfectly with the mood created around the mythical bard.
Orpheus’ universal role as singer and musician moving even the most stony of hearts, extolling the beloved departed, is absolutely justified in the context of a 6th-century Christian tomb. Orpheus is a popular and neutral figure, meaning that in effect it does not constitute a threat to Christian theology and can be tolerated by the educated Christians of Jerusalem.

The late Antique mosaic of Orpheus decorated a small room, approximately 18 m2 in area, connected with two even smaller ones, in 4 m2 and the other 2 m2 in area, belonging most likely to a small funerary chapel (or tomb) discovered in the ancient necropolis by the Damascene Gate in Jerusalem; it was discovered in 1901 by H. Vincent.
The author proposes a new interpretation of the iconographic program of the Orpheus myth used by wealthy Christians in a sepulchral context (see Olszewski M.T. «Orphée endeuillé de la mosaïque funéraire de Jérusalem», in Rey Mimoso-Ruiz, B. ed., Actes du colloque «Orphée entre Soleil et ombre», à l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse du 16 au 17 novembre 2007, Inter Lignes, numéros spécial – mars 2008, pp. 205-214, 226). He also proposes a new interpretation of the role Orpheus played in Roman funerary art, concentrating on the importance of the play on words and the visual and textual punning that was popular in ancient art and especially in funerary art. He rejects the popular interpretation of Orpheus as Christ in the Roman catacombs and proposes to interpret the image as that of Orpheus, bard of the departed souls, without any ahistorical connection with Christ. The program of the mosaic from Jerusalem is thus explained as a play on the words Orpheus-orphanos and Chiron (Chi-Rho) and Pan [Παν(τοκράτωρ)].The frequently used Christian funerary formula of resting in peace, Christ or the Lord corresponds
perfectly with the mood created around the mythical bard.
Orpheus’ universal role as singer and musician moving even the most stony of hearts, extolling the beloved departed, is absolutely justified in the context of a 6th-century Christian tomb. Orpheus is a popular and neutral figure, meaning that in effect it does not constitute a threat to Christian theology and can be tolerated by the educated Christians of Jerusalem.

The late Antique mosaic of Orpheus decorated a small room, approximately 18 m2 in area, connected with two even smaller ones, in 4 m2 and the other 2 m2 in area, belonging most likely to a small funerary chapel (or tomb) discovered in the ancient necropolis by the Damascene Gate in Jerusalem; it was discovered in 1901 by H. Vincent.
The author proposes a new interpretation of the iconographic program of the Orpheus myth used by wealthy Christians in a sepulchral context (see Olszewski M.T. «Orphée endeuillé de la mosaïque funéraire de Jérusalem», in Rey Mimoso-Ruiz, B. ed., Actes du colloque «Orphée entre Soleil et ombre», à l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse du 16 au 17 novembre 2007, Inter Lignes, numéros spécial – mars 2008, pp. 205-214, 226). He also proposes a new interpretation of the role Orpheus played in Roman funerary art, concentrating on the importance of the play on words and the visual and textual punning that was popular in ancient art and especially in funerary art. He rejects the popular interpretation of Orpheus as Christ in the Roman catacombs and proposes to interpret the image as that of Orpheus, bard of the departed souls, without any ahistorical connection with Christ. The program of the mosaic from Jerusalem is thus explained as a play on the words Orpheus-orphanos and Chiron (Chi-Rho) and Pan [Παν(τοκράτωρ)].The frequently used Christian funerary formula of resting in peace, Christ or the Lord corresponds
perfectly with the mood created around the mythical bard.
Orpheus’ universal role as singer and musician moving even the most stony of hearts, extolling the beloved departed, is absolutely justified in the context of a 6th-century Christian tomb. Orpheus is a popular and neutral figure, meaning that in effect it does not constitute a threat to Christian theology and can be tolerated by the educated Christians of Jerusalem.

This paper deals with the House of Leukaktios, which has been discovered during Polish excavations at Ptolemais, Libya, in 2001– 2007. The house has almost completely preserved mosaic pavements and the plan of Graeco-Roman type with an open central court (atrium), acting as the focal point around which the rooms were arranged. The name of one of the last owners, Leukaktios, is written twice on the mosaics in the atrium and in the triclinium. The author proposes the identification of several rooms. Room 1, a triclinium, has a mosaic with the characteristic U-shaped geometric frame around a central figural panel that depicts a personification of Victory or Nike. Room 14 is identified as an andron/triclinium with a similar U-shaped version lay out of the mosaic pavement. Room 9, which is situated in front of the andron/triclinium, could be interpreted as a gyneceum. The central panel which represents Dionysos and sleeping Ariadna has a parallel from the House of Dionysos in Cyrene, where the mosaic bears a rare Greek inscription dedicated to a woman.
Room 4 is identified as a reception hall. The mosaics are homogeneous in style and belong to the last phase of the building between AD 215 and 225.

More than 20 years after presenting his first interpretation of the mosaic from the House of Aion in a paper entitled “Uwagi na temat mozaiki z Domu Aiona w Nea Paphos (Cypr)” (Meander 9/10, 1987, p. 421-438, in Polish, and translated to English: « The Immortality of the Human Soul and the Dionysiac Mysteries in the 4th Century Allegory [in Connection with the Interpretation of the Mosaic from the “House of Aion” at Paphos in Cyprus]»), where he proposed reading the five mythological panels (1. Leda and Zeus; 2. Dionysus on Mount Nysa; 3. The Dionysian thiasos; 4. Apollo and Marsyas; 5. The Apotheosis of Cassiopeia) as an allegory of the destiny of the human soul and body, starting with conception and ending with the liberation of the soul and its apotheosis, the author now enhances his initial interpretation with numerous reflections concerning the historical context of this work of art, created in the years 320-360.
If, according to the author, the mosaic is a “Hymn” in honour of the pagan gods, Man (his soul) and his place in the (pagan) universe, then at the same time it polemicises with the Christian faith and its God, Jesus Christ.
The author puts forward numerous new solutions relating to the mosaic’s iconography and iconology. Analysis of the mosaic also leads him to propose a solution to the as-yet unanswered question regarding the absence of images of the crucified Christ in Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries, up until 420/430, when the first images of Christ on the cross appear.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Research to-date (recap)
2. Description of mosaic (recap)
2.1. Composition of five mythological scenes
2.2. Brief iconographic description of mythological panels
2.3. Outline of individual iconographic elements and their respective roles
2.4. The pagan gods’ air of majesty and dignity as an expression of piety
3. A few words about the pagan reaction
4. An apology of pious human life according to pagan principles and a polemic on the Christian model of Man and his theological idol, Jesus Christ
4.1. Divine intervention in the act of human conception (allusion to/polemic on the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary)
4.2. The Epiphany of Dionysus (an allusion to the Epiphany of Christ – Theou Pais)
4.3. The procession and dissemination of Dionysian order (allusion to/polemic on Christ’s entry into Jerusalem)
4.4. The error of Marsyas (polemic on/allusion to the error of Jesus the Messiah): arrest, sentencing for arrogance and lack of piety (asebeia) and condemnation to a martyr’s death
4.5. The anabasis (or anagoge psyches) of a ‘beautiful soul’ (allusion to/polemic on the Ascension of Christ)
5. A few words on the mosaic programme prior to final conclusions
Final conclusions