Journal of Mosaic Research

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Abelterium: Geometric mosaics from the villae of Casa da Medusa and Quinta do Pião
(Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2017) Antonio, Jorge
The study of geometric mosaics from Casa da Medusa and Quinta do Pião has made a significant contribution towards understanding both the decorative project of these villae in Abelterium (Alter do Chão) and the Roman presence in this region. Geometric pavements in varying states of preservation were uncovered in several rooms. These are essentially polychrome mosaics, some displaying evidence of Baroque overdoing, consisting of white, ochre, yellow, pink, red, green, blue and grey tesserae, made from limestone, sandstone, marble and eventually from pottery.
About the 16th Colloquium of the International Association for the Study of the Ancient Mosaic AIEMA in Conímbriga, Rabaçal, São Simão and Santiago da Guarda, with excursion to Alter do Chão, Mértola, Milreu and Faro, 11th to 15th July 2025
(Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2021-11-30) Pessoa, Miguel; Rodrigo, Lino; Sales, Pedro
The announcement of the 16th International Colloquium of the International Association for the Study of the Ancient Mosaic AIEMA in Conímbriga (Condeixa-a-Nova), Rabaçal, São Simão (Penela) and Santiago da Guarda (Ansião), with excursion to Alter do Chão, Mértola, Milreu and Faro, (11 to 15 July 2025), led the event’s proponents, members of the Portuguese Association for the Study and Conservation of the Ancient Mosaic - APECMA, the Portuguese section of the International Association for the Study of Ancient Mosaic - AIEMA (based in Paris), to consider the availability of each one of the archaeological site teams involved to prepare this International Meeting in a timely and efficient way, and propose the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC) to take the opportunity provided by this event to present the new Conímbriga Mosaic Restoration Centre - which would strengthen the Movement for the Promotion of the Nomination of Conímbriga to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Achilles on Skyros in the emblema from the house of Poseidon at Zeugma: Caracalla and the power of images
(Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2022-08-29) Caso, Laura
This iconographic and iconological analysis has shown the existence of a long tradition about this subject, that is Achilles on Skyros in the emblema from the House of Poseidon at Zeugma. This tradition dates back to the 1st century AD and it concerns the Roman mosaic and painting. The model of Achilles on Skyros travelled from the West to the East, especially from Italy (Rome and Pompeii) towards the eastern part of the Roman Empire. This model arrived in Zeugma on the Euphrates at the beginning of the third century AD, under Caracalla (211-217 CE). The rich owner (dominus) and client of the Poseidon Villa was to be a high officer of Caracalla belonging to Legio IV Scythica or Parthica. In fact Zeugma became the settlement of this Roman legion and the outpost against the Parthians, above all during the reign of Septimius Severus (193-211 CE) and under his successor Caracalla. The dominus of the Poseidon Villa made the imperial propaganda his own by choosing the subject of Achilles on Skyros, which was very favourite by Caracalla on the ideological level, as the subject of Alexander the Great (Cfr. Cassius Dio, Herodian, Scriptores Historiae Augustae). The myth of Achilles on Skyros is very ancient (Cfr. Cypria, Pindar, Sophocles, Euripides) and privileged by Roman (Domus Aurea) and Pompeian painting and mosaic dating back to the emperor Nero, ardent admirer both Achilles and Alexander the Great, as Caracalla.
Ancient repairs on the Alexander Mosaic from Pompeii
(Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2022-08-24) Beşikci, Demet
Every so often throughout antiquity, cities, structures and objects were damaged to varying degrees as a result of wars, earthquakes, floods and fires, and became unusable. However, similar to the present day, in some cases it was possible to maintain their function by carrying out repairs. Traces of such repairs are visible on mosaic flooring, one of the structural elements most affected by these destructions. Since mosaics are composed of lots of small pieces, they can quickly disintegrate in any destructive situation and fall apart easily. Through the ages, the loss of components occurred as a result of not only great destruction and devastation, but also of wear due to overuse. In such cases, in order to reduce the growth of the damaged area, various repair techniques were used, and the use of the structures/spaces continued. The craftsmen doing these repairs sometimes tried to restore the floor and its decoration elements to its original appearance, and other times utilised different materials in order to re-open the space as quickly as possible. The location and dimension of the damage as well as the repair methods on the mosaic provide us with information on the techniques of the craftsmen and the practices of the period. Found at the Casa del Fauno (VI 12, 2) in Pompeii on October 24, 1831 and dated to the end of the 2nd century BC (120 BC) (Pappalardo - Ciardiello 2010: 153) the Alexander Mosaic is one of the most well-known mosaics today, as well as being famous enough in the period it was made to be mentioned in historical and literary sources. The original is preserved in the Naples National Archaeological Museum (MANN, inventory number 10020). It depicts the battle of Issus (333 BC) or Gaugamela (331 BC) between Alexander the Great and Darius III (Pappalardo - Ciardiello 2010: 154; Giulierini et al. 2020: 105). Despite having undergone repairs following the extensive damage it sustained in the earthquake of 62 AD, the mosaic never regained its former appearance. It is a rare example, as it was in some parts repaired with tesserae and some other parts repaired using mortar. Studies of the Alexander Mosaic suggest that these two different mending techniques belong to separate attempts from different periods. This article, as a result of detailed examinations, discusses the possibility that repairs made with both tesserae and mortar may have been applied simultaneously after the same destruction.
Antioch mosaics and their mythological and artistic relations with Spanish mosaics
(Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2012) Blazquez, José Maria; Cabrero, Javier
The twenty-two myths represented in Antioch mosaics repeat themselves in those in Hispania. Six of the most famous are selected: Judgment of Paris, Dionysus and Ariadne, Pegasus and the Nymphs, Aphrodite and Adonis, Meleager and Atalanta and Iphigenia in Aulis.
The Athena Domus at Apollonia (Albania): A reassessment
(Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2016) Omari, Elda; Bonini, Paolo
The city of Apollonia, located to the South-west of modern Albania, was founded in 588 B.C. by Corinthian and Corcyrian people, and was later described by Cicero as an admirabilis urbs. In 44 B.C. when Augustus and Agrippa were studying rhetoric in Apollonia, they got to know of the killing of Caesar and were helped by the local people to return to Rome and take the power back. The city, located on the right bank of the river Aoos, only 12 km from the sea, was a crossroads and a filter for different cultures: Illyrians, Macedonians, the Greeks and the Romans have inhabited the territory over the centuries. The domus, dated between 2nd and 3rd century A.D., represents the connection of the “residential fashion” present at the East and West of the Adriatic Sea. The domus is known in the literature as the “Athena house” because of the statue discovered by the archaeologists inside of it, but also as the “D house” because it was unearthed in “Sector D” of the excavation. The first goal of the research is to analyse the architectural and decorative aspects of the house to understand the tastes of this site. The second goal is to understand the needs of the customer’s social and economic selfrepresentation and the skills of the craftsmen who worked there.
The Basilica mosaic on Asar Island at Myndos
(Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2015) Şener, Y. Selçuk; Şahin, Derya
The first time that a church’s ruins have been discovered with three naves under the base of an architectural ruin of a watchtower is happened in 2009 in Myndos’ Asar Island, when the archeological excavations had started at the top of the island.The ground of the church had been made by using the technique of opus tesselatum, and covered by an geometrical patterned mosaic. However that mosaic had been only protected one piece at the North nave and mostly in the middle nave. Most of the floor pavement of North nave had been ruined because of multiple reasons and had been found at the lower terrace with pieces by the reason of fall down. At the South nave none of mosaic ruins had been found. The mosaic floor dated late 5th - early 6th A.D. by the style and the ruins that have been found with it. In that article information’s will be given about that mosaic’s floor and consolidation.
Before the Corpus: Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul in nineteenth-century French guide-books
(Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2015) Morlier, Helene
The study of a series of nineteenth-century French guide-books shows the evolution of the art of travel: guidebooks were first based on the experience of travellers and the documentation summarized by writers. Little by little, guide-books became more detailed and gave more accurate descriptions of the ornamentation of buildings: art history replaced general impressions. Guide-books also witnessed the changes of mentalities on both sides: foreign visitors and local citizens.
A birds mosaic in Qalaat Seman
(Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2012) Raynaud, Marie-Patrici
Pilgrims’ Baths are excavated since 2008 in Qalaat Seman, dating from the same period than the whole site (end of 5th century), they are partially dug. A large mosaic covers a courtyard surrounded by three galleries (circa 200 m2 ). Around 60% of the space is presently visible. The two excavated galleries present the same simple geometric pattern. In the contrary, the court is covered by a large pattern of adjacent octagons and squares. The originality and interest of this mosaic lays in the filling motifs of the octagons: each of them contains alternatively a bird or a vegetal motif. The birds present many different types and orientation, with bright colours and lively attitudes. The vegetal motifs between birds display trees, bushes and flowers. Some of them are replaced by an empty birdcage with open door. Geometric elements fill the peripheral compartments. This aviary presents an original interpretation of the mosaics showing birds, frequent in the surrounding of Antioch or Apamea, but presenting other forms. We will try to study examples of similar theme in order to locate the workshop of Qalaat Seman among the rich Near East mosaic production.
Bodrum-Torba monastery mosaics
(Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2009) Özet, Aykut
Bodrum ilçesine bağlı Torba köyünde 2000 yılında yapılan kazılar sırasında Geç Roma Çağına tarihlenen taşınır ve taşınmaz eserler ortaya çıkarılmıştır. Tapınak-Şapel, Rahipler evi, Büyük Kilise, Hamam ve Sarnıç gibi taşınmaz eserler içinde yapılan kazı çalışmalarında, tahrip edilmiş alanlar dışında kaliteli mozaiklerle döşenmiş tabanlara rastlanmıştır. Mozaikler genel olarak MS. V-VII yüzyıllara tarihlenen motifler içermektedir. Tessera büyüklükleri ve sayıları da bu yüzyılların özelliklerini taşımaktadır. Özel sektör elindeki bu külliye ne yazık ki korunamamakta ve her geçen gün biraz daha tahrip olmaktadır.
Book Review : Mosaicos romanos en el espacio rural: Investigación y puesta en valor
(Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2020) Quattrocchi, Luigi
The volume published (fig. 1) by “L’Erma di Bretschneider” orginated from the I+D+i project: “Patrimonio Arqueológico, Nuevas Tecnologías, Turismo, Educación y Rentabilización Social: Un nexo necesario para el yacimiento rural” (PATTERN). HAR2015-68059C2-2 (MINECO / FEDER, EU) directed by coordinator Luz Neira Jiménez and could count on the support of many academics from different institutions of Spain and Europe in general. It is therefore the result of four intense years of study which are enclosed in 18 contributions: the majority of them are about the site of the Roman villa of Fuente Álamo (Puente Genil, Córdoba), others explore other archaeological sites that help defining the general context of rural Roman mosaics
Book review : Corpus of the roman mosaics of the conuentus bracaraugustanus
(Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2020-07-13) Pessoa, Miguel
The text here published largely follows the presentation I did at the book launch on 26th June 2019, in the Auditorium of the National Library of Portugal. It was with great honour and pleasure that I accepted the task of presenting the Corpus of the Roman Mosaics of the Conuentus Bracaraugustanus, with the coordination and authorship of Fátima Abraços. The book preparation also had the helpful collaboration of António Manuel de Carvalho Lima, Cátia Mourao, Filomena Limao, Licínia Wrench, Marcelo Mendes Pinto, Paulo Dórdio Gomes and Rui Lopes.
Book review: A mosaic menagerie: Creatures of land, sea and sky in Romano-British Mosaics
(Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2017) Ling, Roger
One of the more attractive features of mosaic pavements in Roman Britain - as indeed in other parts of the Roman Empire - is the profusion of animals that inhabit the various fields. In her excellent new monograph, Patricia Witts reviews and analyses all known specimens of this “mosaic menagerie”. Her agenda is made clear from the start. “Seemingly overlooked as a subject of serious study, these appealing creatures were more than mere decoration or a convenient way of filling space. They are usually chosen with care and offer insights into the overall iconography of the pavements in which they appear.” I would argue for a more flexible position: sometimes the fauna were highly meaningful (as in pavements showing beasts parading around Orpheus), sometimes they were more generally relevant (as in the marine fauna of mosaics in bath-suites), sometimes they were stock fillers chosen from a decorative repertoire. But this is a matter of opinion, and Witts presents her case persuasively and with exemplary thoroughness.
Book Review: Corpus of the Mosaics of Albania, Vol. 1, Butrint intramuros, Balkans’ Mosaic
(Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2018) Parrish, David
Scholars will welcome this new contribution to art and archaeology of the Balkans documenting mosaics at Butrint, a major site on the Albanian coast of the Adriatic near the island of Corfu, in the ancient province of Illyricum. Other volumes are expected to follow in an ambitious project to record all of the mosaics of Albania, an effort directed by a Franco-Albanian team led by Marie-Patricia Raynaud and Agron Islami. The present book’s publication in English makes its contents easily accessible to the scientific community and to others with a more general interest in its subject. The volume has 25 mosaic entries, mostly pavements in addition to a few wall mosaics, all of which are described and analyzed thoroughly and illustrated beautifully with photographs and drawings. The format parallels that used by M.-P. Raynaud in Vol. I, 1 of the Corpus of the Mosaics of Turkey, dealing with mosaics of Xanthos, specifically of the East Basilica there.
Book Review: Diseños geométricos en los mosaicos del Conventus Astigitanus, Sebastián Vargas Vázquez.
(Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2019) Kramer, Maja
Geometric compositions together with decorative elements are by far the most common motifs on Roman mosaics, but nevertheless the least documented and studied. Fortunately, this unbalance is changing and the author’s second publication on the subject is not only an important contribution, but a possible paradigm changer in the feld. The book presents an innovative approach and independent reading, which combined with substantial results takes a signifcant step towards greater understanding of the conceiving and the making of geometric compositions on Roman mosaic foors. At the centre of the study are the remarkable construction drawings of the geometric compositions found on mosaics recovered so far in one of the more prosperous areas of Roman Spain, Conventus Astigitanus, the largest of the four Conventus in Baetica. Written in Spanish, the book comprises, apart from a summary in English, an introduction, eight chapters including fgures and colour plates, and a bibliography. The author´s comprehensive introduction presents the scope, the central themes and the setting of this volume as the second part of an ambitious project encompassing geometric mosaics throughout the region of Baetica. The intention is to gradually expand the investigation, the frst step in the project, covering the geometric mosaics in Colonia Augusta Firm Astigi, capital of Conventus Astigitanus, was published in 2014 (S. Vargas Vázquez, Diseños de los mosaicos geométricos a Ècija
Book Review: Los mosaicos de la Plaza de la Encarnación. Roma a Seville, Guadalupe López Monteagudo, 117 pages, 59 figures, bibliography.
(Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2018) Kramer, Maja
Plaza de la Encarnación in the heart of the historic center of Seville was excavated between 2003 and 2009. Starting as a rescue excavation 1998, in connection with the planning of a parking area, four phases from over five centuries of buildings with mosaics, from the Roman Hispalis and the late antique Ispali, came to light. This book presents the mosaics which have a unique quality and diversity unmatched in its kind in the city, where otherwise only few mosaics have been found, unlike the other Roman cities in the region, Itálica, Ecija and Cordoba. The text, accompanied by magnificent color photos, is divided into four parts, presentation, introduction, main text which carries the book's title, as well as a selection of bibliographic references. Seville's Mayor, J. Espadas, opens with a presentation (pp. 9-10) of the Antiquarium, the archaeological space which was inaugurated on the site in 2010. Today it currently displays findings from the Roman period, together with archaeological remains of Seville's medieval period into the 14th century. In the Introduction (pp. 11-25) F. Amores, who from 2003 to 2010 was responsible archaeologist for a total of four excavation campaigns, presents a synthesizes of the findings and situates the Roman history of the place, from the first to the seventh century AD, in a chronological and regional context.
Bookreview: III. ve IV. Uluslararası Türkiye Mozaik Korpusu Sempozyumu Bildirileri – The Proceeding of III. and IV. International Symposium of the Mosaic of Turkey
(Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2008) Witts, Patricia
Mustafa Şahin (editor), III Uluslararasi Türkiye Mozaik Korpusu Sempozyumu Bildirileri – The Proceeding of III International Symposium of the Mosaic of Turkey, Uludağ University, Bursa, 2007, 222 pages including 64 pages of plates in colour and black and white. ISBN 978-975-6149-32-4.
Chrismons and crosses on the Late Antique Mosaic pavements from Bulgaria
(Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2022-10-01) Popava, Vania
The article examines the cases of placing of the Early Christian Christograms/Staurograms and crosses in diverse iconographies and different number on the Late Antique mosaic pavements from the ancient provinces of the present-day Bulgarian lands/ mostly in the Central and Eastern Balkans. The history and the criteria of the cross in Late Antiquity are traced in the Early Christian liturgy, decoration and art, the official and tacit regulations, laws and bans in that aspect, the exceptions and the reasons causing them.
Common aspects of the mosaics of Sardinia, North Africa and Iberian Peninsula in the light of recent discoveries
(Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2018) Quattrocchi, Luigi
The article aims at understanding the common aspects of the new mosaics discovered comparing them to mosaics of North Africa and Iberian Peninsula. For the writing of this work, the teachings of the late Prof. Jose Maria Blázquez were handed down through a myriad of publications: A scholar who has always been busily occupied with all the mosaic art of the Mediterranean. The first part is dedicated to the geometric mosaics, two from “Domus dei Mosaici” and “Domus di Orfeo” (Turris Libisonis) and one from Sant’Imbenia, Alghero. The second part is dedicated to the figurative mosaics: Orpheus discovered in Turris Libisonis and a Head of Medusa discovered in Sant’Imbenia, Alghero. The ancient mosaics of Sardinia show the influence of nearby North Africa, not only in the figured mosaics but also and above all in the geometric mosaics. The cities in which we find more evidence of mosaics in Sardinia are: Nora, Porto Torres and Cagliari. But the city that in the last year is returning the greatest testimonies in terms of mosaics is the ancient Turris Libisonis. This article will not take into account all the recent discoveries, only the most significant and comprehensive to better explain the North African and Iberian influences: The mosaics that are not taken into consideration, in any case, are very similar to those examined here. It is hoped that in the future the archaeological excavations will bring to light new mosaics: So we can have more evidence to establish how much the North African influence was present in Sardinia.
Concordantia Veteris et Novi testamenti in the mosaic of the funerary basilica of Via Dottor Consoli in Catania
(Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi, 2021-08-23) Di Caro, Dominique Maria
In 1930, it was discovered in the area of Via Dottor Consoli, in the northwestern sector of current urban centre of Catania, a cemetery complex used from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine era, by the Superintendence of Antiquities of Syracuse, under the direction of then Inspector G. Libertini. In that occasion, portions of the perimeter strip of a floor mosaic inside the basilica were brought to light, which during later excavation campaigns was completely excavated and detached in 1957 to be exhibited in the “salone di San Giorgio” of the Castello Ursino. Currently, it is kept in the storerooms of the ex-Manifattura Tabacchi (site of the future Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Catania). The mosaic of the basilica nave, dated to the middle of the sixth century AD, represents common secular themes on three registers: running felids, animals in combat and the marine scene with two men on a boat in front of a dragon with red coat dotted with white eyelets. In a panel there is a snake twisted around the trunk of a tree, in my opinion, to be identified with the Tree of knowledge mentioned by the sacred texts. In the Apocalypse, “the old serpent, which is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Revelation 12, 9) becomes a great red dragon, who appears in the marine scene. An interpretative reading of the mosaic is proposed in the light of the rhetorical procedure of “significant inclusion” to enhance the unity and narrative continuity between the Old and New Testament.

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