TOUR AND DISCUSSION OF THE FISHBOURNE ROMAN PALACE MOSAICS
An overview
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| Fishbourne Roman Palace |
Many thousands of
years ago, somewhere, perhaps on a sandy beach, a young child makes a face of
his mother, father or younger sibling, using a pile of varying shaped and
coloured pebbles gathered together from the shores of the beach. Excitedly, the
child calls to his parents to come and view his efforts before the in-coming
tide destroys his creation. The parents praise the child’s efforts and,
suitably encouraged, the child returns to the beach at a later date with
friends and they all begin to make images in the sand with the pebbles. Perhaps
competitions are arranged and families have beach parties when the children’s
efforts are shown, discussed and judged. Over the course of time this child
grows up and with practised skills learned from the beach, wishes to make one
of their creations more permanent.
These humble beginnings of human imagination and skills, lead eventually
to the creation of the mosaic floors which many of us enjoy today. The
materials used over time progressed from coloured pebbles to natural coloured
stone, now known as tesserae. The tesserae in Britain range in size from 0.5cm
to 4cm and are usually sourced from the local natural stone.
The architect,
Vitruvius, in the first century BC, tells us that a sound base for the mosaic
to rest in was most important. He goes on to say that the soil should be
levelled and rubble, mixed with lime, should be rammed tightly down. Upon this
a layer of powdered pottery mixed with lime should be used to create the
bedding for the mosaic. This should then be covered with a fine layer of mortar
in which to lay the tesserae.
There seems to be very little historical evidence of whom
these craftsmen were and the methods they employed to create and lay their
mosaics. By the time mosaics were laid in Britain the art was many centuries
old. Many modern mosaicists use, what is called, ‘the reverse’ method or the
‘indirect’ method – both linked to what is known as prefabrication. Whether
these methods were used by the ancient craftsmen are open to debate as no known
proof is available.
What I am trying to encourage through this article is for
visitors, not just to view mosaics with their eyes just as works of art, but
also to open their minds and imaginations to what, perhaps, these mosaics may
be trying to tell us.
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| The Corridor |
The first mosaic to view is to the right, just past the
model in the foyer. It is a mosaic corridor created in the 2nd
century to link the North Wing to the West Wing. Looking at it now, damaged by
blistering and agriculture, it is difficult to see the original design. But it
consisted of 22 alternating red and grey boxes, each box containing diagonal
crosses made up of 9 smaller boxes of grey and red, the red being made of
recycled tile and the grey possibly Kimmeridge shale, from Dorset. The pattern
of this floor becomes much clearer when delicately moistened with a damp mop.
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| The Nine Squared Mosaic |
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| The Hypocaust |
Next on the left, is the ‘Nine Squared Mosaic and Hypocaust’.
Towards the end of the 3rd century AD, around the year 270AD, this hypocaust
was constructed but never used. The floor level was going to be raised and in
all probability a new mosaic floor would have been laid. This is indicated by
the discovery, in the room opposite, of two heaps of gritty mortar already
mixed and ready for use. Upturned roof tiles were used for the floors and the
side walls were built of greensand blocks with bonding courses of tile set in
clay. To the far right, part of the original mosaic floor can be seen. This is
a complex mosaic floor consisting of a geometric pattern of squares within
squares. There are black lines on a white background and a limited use of red
and blue/grey colours. The white tesserae are chalk, the black is possibly
shale, the red is a baked clay and the grey is lias limestone.
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| Square and Diamond Pattern Mosaic |
If we progress down the North Wing, the next room to our
right is the ‘Square and Diamond Pattern’ mosaic. The floor is basically white
with a design of evenly spaced boxes linked by a square and diamond pattern.
The boxes contain one of three designs, based on squares. A black square, a
white square within a larger black one and a third is a motif containing five
white squares. In part, the floor has subsided over an earlier ditch and the
resulting rising damp would have made the room perhaps unsuitable for everyday
living. Consequently, the room could well have been used as a store or workshop.
This could explain why the mosaic was left undisturbed and not refurbished as
other rooms had been during later developments. The tesserae would have been
made of a hard white chalk and a grey/black hard silty shale.
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| Chequerboard Mosaic |
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| Remains of the original mosaic |
The next room on the right hand side carries the heading
‘Chequerboard’ mosaic. Some of the
original mosaic laid down between AD73-80 can be seen in the south west and
north east corners. The mosaic consists of a repetitive design of black squares
of two different sizes, on a white ground. These boxes are contained within a
triple black border. This room, like the previous room, probably became a
workshop of some design. The tesserae
are made out of white chalk and a grey/black silty shale.
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| Shell Mosaic |
If we cast our eyes to the left, we see a room known as the ‘Shell
Mosaic’. This mosaic is dated by the shards of broken samian pottery used as
tesserae, therefore it is believed to have been constructed in the middle of
the 2nd century AD. Materials used for the construction of the 2nd
century mosaic include samian pottery, red tile for the border, a hard white chalk
and a yellow siltstone, in all probability from Dorset. Some of the red
tesserae could have been made from red brick. The design of this mosaic,
because of its missing centre piece, is difficult to interpret. The semicircles
of ray panels, on the north and south side, could be scallop shells.
Alternatively, the long narrow pieces of mosaic protruding from the bottom of
the missing centre, could be interpreted as the legs, feet and spurs of a
peacock. The ‘shells’ could then be interpreted as the opened tail of a
peacock. In the late 1960’s when this mosaic was being consolidated by two
Italian craftsmen, they referred to this floor as the ’Peacock Mosaic’. The
symbolism of the peacock can be open to a number of interpretations. The Ancient Greeks likened the peacock tail to
stars, or to eyes, and dedicated this bird to Juno the Goddess of sky and the
Goddess of stars, and souls through the peacock were raised to the bosom of
Juno, a place where souls migrated therefore symbolising immortality. The
Christians in antiquity used the symbolism of the peacock as resurrection. The
circular shape of the peacock tail gives the interpretation of immortality and
eternity. On reflection, and in all probability, one could see this as a scallop shell with two dangling tails of dolphins. A marine scene on this floor would not have been out of place, for the palace itself is very close to the sea. In all probability, the centre of this mosaic was destroyed by the
roots of a tree.
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| Cupid on a Dolphin |
To our left we can now view the mosaic named ‘Cupid on a
Dolphin’. This is the most famous and the most colourful of the Fishbourne
mosaics and has been seen on a number of television documentaries. The tesserae
used to construct this piece of work include yellow and orange limestone,
ceramic fragments, including shards of samian pottery, which are recognisable
by their bright reddish/orange colour. Chalk and grey shale were also used in
its construction. This mosaic is believed to have been crafted between
AD150-160. The evidence for this was found when the mosaic was lifted for
conservation in 1979, the samian pottery used for the tesserae were dated to
that period by the patterned design on the reverse side. The mosaic is 13 feet
square and contains several images that relate to Greek/Roman mythology. A
discussion on this mosaic can be viewed on a later article under the heading ‘Cupid on a Dolphin’. Interestingly, a small black bird is to be seen perched
on the third leaf west from the central vase in the northern border. Is this
the signature of the mosaicist?
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| The Knot Mosaic |
Next on the left, past ‘Cupid on a Dolphin’, is a room
which carries the heading ‘The Knot Mosaic’. The mosaic panel of this room is
7’4’’ by 5’6’’ and the floor probably dates to the early 3rd
century. For, during excavation nearby, underneath the tessellated floor, a
silver coin of Septimius Severus, minted in 197AD, was found. The material used
for the tesserae in this room included chalk, shale, black pot, red brick, a
yellow siltstone and a little samian. On the outside of the guilloche, on the
white background, four pairs of dolphins can be seen, each pair facing a
central vase. At this point I would like to give the reader a personal
interpretation of this mosaic. The centre motif of this mosaic, the Solomon
knot, has no visible beginning or end and could be read as immortality and
eternity intertwined. Beliefs in that period of time, about what happened to
the human spirit after death, would recognise this. In Roman literature, art
and statuary the dolphin carries souls to the ‘Island of the Blest’. Images of
dolphins have been found in the hands of the dead to ensure safe passage to the
afterlife. Dolphins were seen to be the travellers between the two worlds. They
shared the human world by breathing air and showed intelligence and friendship
towards humans. Then they could simply
disappear to the unknown world beneath the waves, becoming a symbol of the
renewal and preservation of life. The central motif is surrounded by never
ending braided guilloche which could act as the demon trap to protect this
motif from contamination (refer to ‘The Cupid on a Dolphin’ article). The
four vases between the dolphins could represent water, and the scallop shells,
in the four corners of the mosaic, could represent food from the sea, as food
and water are required for human existence. Alternatively, the Solomon knot
could represent the coming together of the Celtic culture with the Roman
culture. A keen eye will notice that in the center part of the knot the black line has been laid inside the white tesserae, is this an error? The Roman culture would have been spreading through the country since
AD43 and by the 3rd century AD the two cultures would have become
more integrated.
The next room to view is called the ‘Doormat Mosaic and Burial’.
Only a small part of the original mosaic survives which is in the south east
corner. It shows a black chequer pattern on a white background, enclosed by a
thin black line. This piece of mosaic could be a part of what is called a ‘mat’,
this being the first part of the floor before leading on to the main mosaic.
Again we have chalk used for the white tesserae and shale for the thin black
line.
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| Rosette and Tessellated Mosaic |
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| Rosette and Tessellated Floor |
If we now continue down the North Wing we can view the ‘Rosette
and Tessellated Floor’. Fortunately, the mosaic, over a long period of time,
has subsided into an underlying gully, thus saving it from complete destruction
by the plough. It has been difficult to date this mosaic for although some of
the tesserae are of samian pot, it has been impossible to date them. Therefore,
all that can be said is that this floor would have been crafted after the
beginning of the 2nd century. The mosaic panel is 6’9’’ square and
the multi-coloured piece of work rests in the centre of a red tessellated
floor. The rose was unknown to the inhabitants of Italy until the 3rd
century BC, and the Latin name for the plant derives from its Greek name. The
rose in its everyday and symbolic use in all probability was the result of a
cultural contact with the Greeks, therefore we could read this rosette, by the
time this mosaic was crafted, as the coming together as the Greek/Roman and
Celtic cultures. The border design surrounding the whole mosaic could possibly
be small rose leaves connected together by a continuous undulating pattern
between the leaves.
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| The Fortress Mosaic |
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| The Fortress Mosaic |
Opposite this room we can view the ‘Fortress’ mosaic. This
Flavian mosaic was found in 1987 when the ‘Dolphin Mosaic’ above it was lifted
for restoration. This mosaic can also be viewed at ground level from the lower
concourse. The outer border of this mosaic depicts a castellated city wall, an
entry to within it is protected by gates in the middle of each wall and viewing towers in the four corners. There are
two double portal in the middle of north and south walls and two single portal
in the middle of the east and west walls. The gates and the towers are
enlivened with the use of grey and red tesserae. The central panel of this
mosaic would have contained sixteen equal squares, although sadly only nine
survive, and some of these only contain fragments. They seem to be based on an intricate
geometric design containing squares and triangles. The material used for the
construction include red ceramics, pale grey limestone, chalk and cement stone.
If, in our minds eye, we transport this mosaic back to the room where the Cupid
on a Dolphin Mosaic is, we can then see this as a possible dining room with the
colonnaded courtyard to the south of it. Perhaps the symbolism of this room is
that the great wealth of the proprietor and his family protected them from the
reality and complications of everyday
life. With the dining couches positioned around the city walls, the diners
could observe and discuss the sixteen inner squares, splendidly laid out with
their complicated and visually interesting designs. The craftsman/men who laid
this mosaic would have been highly skilled and possibly well paid. They would
also be aware that the design of this floor would cling in the visitors visual
memories, and in this way perhaps, be relayed back to Rome as one of the more
splendid rooms at that huge villa on the outskirts of Noviomagus Regnensium.
Alteratively, this mosaic could be viewed as an early street layout of Chichester. The locals, in all probability, would have known this place as Noviomagus Reginorum, meaning 'the new town - or market, of the proud people. The mosaic depicts a north, east, south and west gate. Four roads radiate from Noviomagus. Outside the north gate a road goes to Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester), the capital of the Northern Atrebates. The road issuing from the east gate is Stane Street and goes to Londinium (London). From the south gate the road would have run to Selsey, on the coast. The road from the west gate went to Clausentum (Bitterne, Southampton).
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| Large Cross and Box Mosaic showing the dividing wall |
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| Large Cross and Box Mosaic |
Now we backtrack to the room which is called the ‘Large
Cross and Box’ mosaic. In the Flavian period the wall plaster in this room was
very elaborately painted, with large areas of simulated marble veneering of
different types, perhaps indicating that this was a dining room. This mosaic
was only 18 inches below the surface when found, and the only damage to it seems
to be just ordinary wear and tear, as small areas in the north and south panels
have been patched. The crosses and boxes are linked with a square-and-diamond
background, cleverly designed to tantalise and tease our eyes as we search to
seek and make visual sense of the design. Sometimes when I view this mosaic floor I feel that I am drowning in my own shadow, as I constantly feel, that the watchful eyes of the past laid this mosaic with some meaning. This floor certainly stimulates my imagination
and in my mind’s eye I can see this mosaic being utilised as a chequer board
game, the players, relaxing on their couches, sipping wine and getting the
slaves to move their counters around the floor. Chalk and shale are the
components of this floor. At a later date this floor was divided by a timber
wall and, sadly, this partly destroys the whole visual perspective.
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| Found under the Greek Key and Medusa Mosaic |
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| Greek Key and Medusa Mosaic |
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| Greek Key and Medusa Mosaic |
The next floor we come to is the ’Greek Key and Medusa’
mosaic. This colourful mosaic and the original floor underneath it were both
lifted and relayed for conservation purposes in 1981. A piece of the original
black and white geometric mosaic can be seen in the south east corner of the
floor. This fragment shows a meander pattern which would have surrounded
squares containing geometric designs. Large areas of the original mosaic have
been used to supplement the material used for the later floor. The material
used in the later floor contains a wide tapestry of colour. Reds can be seen in
siltstone, brick and samian. A yellow siltstone and its purple tones can also
be noticed. Purple is also present in the form of Purbeck marble within the
Medusa head and guilloche. The black/grey colours are of shale, although some
of the grey is lias limestone with the occasional use of flint. The pieces of samian date this floor as being
laid at the beginning of the 2nd century. The decorated panel
measures 13’ square and contains much for the eye to feast upon. It’s
colourful, lively design includes a Medusa head surrounded by four pairs of
octagonal panels some containing a stylised leaf, flower and a Solomon’s knot.
The overall design of this floor shows a lively, imaginative and artistic mind.
The craftsmanship required for the laying out of this mosaic is disappointing
as, in numerous places, the design is squeezed into a limited area. One example
of this is that the north east chequer board is too large, so the framework of
the adjacent panel is squeezed in and one line of its border has had to be
omitted to take the design.
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| Small Cross and Box Mosaic |
If we now look to the right we can see the ‘Small Cross and
Box’ mosaic. This floor, in all probability, was crafted in the late 2nd
century. The excavations in the 1960s
detected some white tesserae on the southern side of the room underneath this
later floor. The implications of this floor are interesting, suggesting that
even in the late 2nd century the black and white geometric mosaics
were still popular. The motifs on this floor are different to those in the
‘Large Cross and Box Mosaic’, in as much as some of the patterns are based on
circles and are more varied. The white chalk tesserae are untidily laid compared
to the neatness in this other room,
which is a shame as this takes ones eye away from the imagination used for the
crafting of the motifs.
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| Mosaics from the West Wing |
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| Mosaics from the West Wing |
Opposite the ‘Greek Key and Medusa’ mosaic are the remains
of three black and white geometric mosaics rescued in 1987 from the back garden
of a house which stands on the southern side of the West Wing. The third piece
of mosaic to the right gives an insight into its design. The outer border
consists of two lines of black tesserae, one line being 5 tesserae deep and the
second line being 2 tesserae deep set in a white background. These lead the eye
into the central design which is a combination of small and large black boxes
contained in a white background. To the east, a small part of a black floral
design can be seen. Also to be noticed are patches of blue/grey scorch marks, -
are these from the fire that destroyed the North Wing of the Palace around 270
AD?
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| The Rectangles Mosaic |
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| The Rectangles Mosaic |
If we now go east across the Lower Concourse to the next
walkway we can view the ’Rectangles’ mosaic. This floor could be seen as rather
dull and boring, for as we view it, out of the corner of our eye we begin to
notice the colourful creation in the room next door. Whether this room was a
single room or part of a hall, I feel that the proprietor would not have paid
money to have something created that had no impact. Perhaps, nearly two
thousand years ago, this floor bore a symbolic message which would have been
understood by all those ancient people who viewed or walked upon it. The
overlapping rectangles, as we view them together, become more impacting to the
eye and could symbolically stand for the coming together of cultures, ideas
and/or beliefs. Thus, joined together, they become more vibrant, stronger and
more noticed.
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| Floral Mosaic |
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| Floral Mosaic |
Just a few feet to the right is a room which contains the ‘Floral’
mosaic and the scar of the Palace discovery trench. The trench seems to have
been cut for some distance before the digger driver stopped to see what was
causing the mouth of the digger to work so hard. This was in April 1960 and
roman masonry, mosaic flooring and grey ware pottery had been brought to the
surface. Consequently, in the Easter of 1961, trial trenches were dug in that
same field for further investigation. This floral mosaic is vivid to the eyes
with its variation of colours, coupled with a circular band showing rosettes
alternating with leaves. In the north west corner dolphins can be seen facing
towards a central vase. In the south east corner the dolphins are replaced by
fish. In the remaining two corners the central vases have square-topped handles
and the tendrils from the vases are longer and more exuberant than those in the
south east and north west corners. It is a huge frustration that the central
panel has been lost. The stone used for the tesserae were most colourful and
the petals of the flowers and the leaves between them contain white chalk, red
brick, yellow siltstone and a purple-toned Purbeck marble. Within the circular
guilloche, red brick, blue Purbeck marble, grey limestone and a brownish/red
sandstone can be seen. All of these colours are noticed in the spandrel
designs. In my mind, I wonder why this polychrome mosaic is here when all
around it the rooms contain geometric designs. Could it be that this floor is
of a later date? Unfortunately, it contains no samian which would have helped
to date it. This mosaic was lifted in 1961 and stored in a workroom for nearly six years before it was relaid exactly as it was found. The other thought that comes into my mind is that this mosaic was
laid in homage to the mother Goddess deity. The clues are there, with the fish
(feminine symbol of fertility) and the fish lived in water, a life giving
element. The flowers live, grow and then die – although life is regenerated
through their seeds. This mosaic is of unique quality and the skill requires to
construct this floor would be indistinguishable from those laid in Italy. For
the Divine Mother a black and white mosaic would just not do!
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| Reverse Mosaic and Postholes |
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| Samian tesserae |
The next room to review is named the ’Reverse Mosaic and
Postholes’, the smallest room in the North Wing. It is called the ‘Reverse
Mosaic’ because the prominent colour is black with white pattern detail. This
floor has escaped damage from the plough, although parts of it have sunk
dramatically into the postholes of an earlier timber building, giving the
mosaic a very distorted appearance. The design layout consists of alternate
squares of red or blue framed within interlocking white lines. If we look to
the south east corner, in the border of the dark grey, a white diamond can be
seen. Is this the signature of the mosaicist? Interestingly, a single bright
coloured tesserae of samian can be noticed in the red central panel. Is this
just a repair or was it laid deliberately so the viewer would search for more
samian and therefore view the floor for longer, and consequently digest and
appreciate the work more? It seems that the red tesserae are a fine-grained
fired clay and the blue a variety of Purbeck marble.
Next is Room 22. It seems that this floor has been a victim
of the plough only leaving a few patches of black and white which can be viewed
today. What survives shows that there was a mosaic floor with a black design on
a white ground, similar to the ‘Rectangles’ mosaic. The white tesserae being of
chalk and the black/grey a silty shale.
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| Room 22 |
The next room to view is Room 23. The floor in this room
appears to have had a solid enough foundation to receive a mosaic. Although, perhaps
over the course of time, the function of this room changed and the mosaic
materials were lifted and perhaps stored and used elsewhere.
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| Chequer and Stars Mosaic |
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| Chequer and Stars Mosaic |
If we now make our way back towards the model of the Palace,
using the walkway nearest to the north wall, just before the hypocaust we can
view the ‘Chequer and Stars’ mosaic. The tesserae used in the construction of
this floor are a hard, white chalk and a black silty shale. Part of this
mosaic, the chequer pattern of alternating squares of black and white, can be
viewed through the glass panel in the walkway. If we look to the south-east of
this later floor we can see a white background with random stars of black
tesserae. It could be that when the original floor in this room was removed,
much of the original tesserae were re-used for this later mosaic.
Conclusion
Black and white mosaic floors have been known since the 2nd
century BC and seem to have been the height of fashion in the 1st
century AD. The North Wing of the Palace and the excavated parts of the West
Wing are predominately black and white geometric designs. The only knowledge
that we have regarding the mosaics in the South Wing was first recorded in 1805
when, workmen digging the foundation of a house, found a tessellated pavement
about 13’6’’ in width and in the middle of this part of a base of a column was
noted. The floor was composed of black
and white tesserae. Unfortunately, the South Wing is buried underneath the A259
road and a number of houses. As for the East Wing, although tesserae were noted
during the 1960s excavations, no mosaic or part of a mosaic was found in situ.
It seems that the Palace would have been built by Mediterranean craftsmen, no
doubt in a contemporary, Italian style. Some of the architecture within the
Palace is similar to that found in the Domus Flavia, Domitian’s Palace on the
Palatine. The architect for the Domus Flavia was a man by the name of Rabirius,
perhaps it is a possibility that Rabirius was the architect responsible for
Fishbourne Roman Palace.
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