Archaeologists have unearthed the largest Roman mosaic discovered in London in more than 50 years.

 

The main mosaic dates to the late 2nd, early 3rd century and was installed over the traces of an earlier mosaic.

The main mosaic features lotus flowers surrounded by guilloche borders. Between the lotus squares are black triangles, diamond shapes, smaller guilloche rectangles and to the side, a Solomon’s knot (a horizontal and a vertical loop enlaced with each other through the middle) inset in a black circle bracketed by a black lozenge-shaped outline. Archaeologists believe it is the work of a team of local mosaicists known as the Acanthus group who developed a characteristic style.

The remains of a substantial Roman building was found at the site in 1988, and later excavations revealed additional architectural elements, including a tesselated terracotta floor and fragments of painted wall plaster. The building was made of multiple rooms around an internal courtyard and a well-landscaped exterior garden. It was built ca. 72 A.D., just 25 years after the founding of Londinium, but was later modified, including the creation of the mosaic floor discovered last month.

Via the always good History Blog.