An Unusual Roman Mosaic Glass Bottle, 1st Century AD

Formed from slices of a cane with an opaque white circle in a translucent light amber-colored matrix to form a squat unguentarium with a short cylindrical neck and pear-shaped body.

This small bottle is an unusual mixture of ancient glass making techniques with sections from a cast mosaic cane that were fused together and then blown to create the final shape. Usually such vessels are formed from layers or opaque white and blue or purple glass or four to six larger sections as with gold-band vessels.

Roman and Byzantine-era mosaic discovered in Lod

A rare, well-preserved mosaic discovered during archaeological excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in Lod, southeast of Tel Aviv, will be displayed to the public for the first time this week, the IAA announced on Monday.

The mosaic, which once served as a living room floor in a villa during the Roman and Byzantine periods 1,700 years ago, was initially unearthed last year by a team of IAA archaeologists during a large excavation in the Neve Yerek neighborhood, located in central Israel.

“The aim of the excavation was to prepare the ground for the construction of a visitor center, to which the beautiful mosaic will be returned when it completes a series of exhibitions in museums around the world,” said IAA spokeswoman Yoli Shwartz. Read more.

Rare 1,500-year-old old mosaic discovered depicting streets, buildings of ancient Egypt

A rare 1,500-year-old mosaic, depicting a map with streets and buildings from ancient Egypt, was displayed by the Antiquities Authority on Tuesday, two years after it was discovered during an excavation conducted with the help of area school children in southern Israel.

“This extraordinary mosaic served as the floor of a church dating to the Byzantine period,” said IAA spokeswoman Yoli Shwartz at a Tuesday morning press conference at Kiryat Gat Industrial Park, where the relic was unearthed.

“It was removed from the site for the purpose of conservation, and was recently returned to its permanent location in the industrial park.”

IAA archaeologists Sa’ar Ganor and Dr. Rina Avner said the appearance of buildings on mosaic floors is a rare phenomenon in Israel. Read more.

Mosaic floor from Villelaure with Diana and Callisto surrounded by hunt scenes

Villelaure, France, 3rd century A.D.

colored marble, limestone, and glass tesserae 

LACMA

More here.

Mosaic floor from Villelaure with Diana and Callisto surrounded by hunt scenes

Villelaure, France, 3rd century A.D.

colored marble, limestone, and glass tesserae 

LACMA

Mosaic Pavement

AD 100

Roman

(Source: The British Museum)

A section of the mosaic floor tiling found in the Baths of Caracalla The Baths of Caracalla (Italian: Terme di Caracalla) in Rome, Italy, were the second largest Roman public baths, or thermae, built in Rome between AD 212 and 216, during the reign of the Emperor Caracalla. Chris Scarre provides a slightly longer construction period 211-217 AD. They would have had to install over 2,000 tons of material every day for six years in order to complete it in this time. Records show that the idea for the baths were drawn up by Septimius Severus, and merely completed or opened in the lifetime of Caracalla.

Uncovering Mosaics, Petra

Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt

Petra’s heyday ended when the Romans rerouted trade in the second century A.D., sending the city into a long decline. In a fifth-century Byzantine church, archaeologists found detailed mosaics.

Mosaic Floor

AD 100

Roman

(Source: The British Museum)

Tunisian apse pavement mosaic

AD 200-225

Roman period

(Source: The British Museum)

The Leadenhall Street Mosaic

AD 100-200

Discovered in London during building work on the premises of the East India Company

Romano-British

(Source: The British Museum)

Antakya Archeological Museum, The Mosaic of Poseidon.

Standard of Ur, circa 2500 BC

Photographing this was such a challenge. It is behind glass, and the only way to get an image without glare was to press the lens against the window. But then I could not fit the whole thing in one frame. In the end I took dozens of photos and stitched them all together.

When Leonard Wooley found this item, the wood holding the mosaic was totally decomposed. But he ingeniously poured wax over it to preserve the pattern and it was brought back to London where it was reconstructed.

Mosaic portrait of Empress Irene on the Comnenos mosaic in the Hagia Sophia, Constantinopl; She was a Hungarian princess married to Emperor John II Komnenos in order to strengthen the Byzantine-Hungarian alliance.

Humongous Roman mosaic found under farmer’s field in Turkey (+video)

A giant poolside mosaic featuring intricate geometric patterns has been unearthed in southernTurkey, revealing the far-reaching influence of the Roman Empire at its peak.

The mosaic, which once decorated the floor of a bath complex, abuts a 25-foot (7-meter)-long pool, which would have been open to the air, said Michael Hoff, aUniversity of Nebraska, Lincoln art historian and director of the mosaic excavation. The find likely dates to the third or fourth century, Hoff said. The mosaic itself is an astonishing 1,600 square feet (149 square meters) — the size of a modest family home.  

“To be honest, I was completely bowled over that the mosaic is that big,” Hoff told LiveScience. [See Photos of the Roman Mosaic]

watch the video and read the rest of the article here

1,600-year-old mosaic at Israeli synagogue damaged

JERUSALEM (AP) - Vandals badly damaged a rare 1,600-year-old mosaic in the northern Israeli city of Tiberias that formed the floor of an ancient synagogue, smashing parts to rubble and scrawling graffiti, antiquity officials said Tuesday.

Experts suspect extremist Jews who object, sometimes violently, to excavations they claim involve ancient grave sites. There was no claim of responsibility. Police are investigating.

Guards found the damage on Tuesday morning, said archeologists involved in the site.

The mosaic, dating 400 years after the birth of Jesus, was one of the best preserved and beautiful of its period, according to archaeologists.

It featured illustrated zodiac signs and the traditional symbolism of a fourth-century synagogue: ritual candelabras and palm fronds. The synagogue’s ruins, including its ancient mosaic floor, were in a fenced-off area of a national park in Tiberias, next to the Sea of Galilee. Read more.