Book Description

Roman Mosaics of Britain is the culmination of more than seventy years of combined research and meticulous draughtsmanship by the authors, who are both in the forefront of mosaic scholarship. Their work, to be published in four volumes, is a complete illustrated catalogue of every known Romano-British mosaic - nearly 2000 in all - of which almost 450 feature in Volume II. Presented in the form of a county gazetteer, each mosaic is described, with drawings, photographs of figured elements and references. In many cases, the entry is illustrated by one of the authors' detailed paintings, which are faithful to the colour and composition of each mosaic. This volume contains some of the finest Romano-British mosaics ever uncovered. The South West has Britain's greatest concentration of figured mosaics, including, at Hinton St Mary, one of the earliest depictions of Christ. Several pavements illustrate scenes from Virgil's Aeneid or Ovid's Metamorphosis . As well as the organisation of the craft, the history of mosaic discoveries, building types, room function, figured work and schemes are considered. Each county has its own detailed introduction.