Brading Roman Villa

Welcome to my third article of three comparing the mosaics of Fishbourne Roman Palace, Bignor Roman Villa and Brading Roman Villa on the Isle of Wight.

An overview

Brading Roman Villa is situated a few hundred metres south of Brading Down on the Isle of Wight, the local section of the chalk ridge that runs across the island from the Needles ,in the west, to Culver Cliff, in the east. As the Villa is sited at the foot of Brading Down, it is sheltered from the North winds. The Villa faces east and overlooks an alluvial plain that once formed a small harbour, known as Brading Haven, at the mouth of the East Yar River. The harbour is now silted up and the Villa is now 1.5 kilometres from the coast. Perhaps to make the Villa more prominent at some time in its inhabited lifetime, the outside would have been painted white or even multi-coloured. This set against the dark background of the then woods, would have advertised the wealth and status of its owners.



View of surrounding countryside

The Isle of Wight landmass, at one point in its evolutionary history, would have still been attached to Europe and South East England. About 10,000 years ago the great ice sheets of the last ice-age melted causing a substantial rise in sea level. Because of this, around 7,000 years ago, the island was separated from the mainland. The Isle of Wight is now located about 5 miles off the coast of the county of Hampshire and separated from Britain by a strait called the Solent. It is a diamond-shaped island of 147 square miles and is about 26 miles across.



Villa cover-building



The Ground-Plan of the Villa.

Model of the villa

The Roman occupation of this island, then known as Vectis, began in 44AD when the 2^nd Roman Legion, commanded by the future Emperor, Vespasian, conquered and subdued the local tribes. How difficult, how long it took and at what cost to human lives is sadly not recorded by the early historians. The ancient name of Brerdynge, from which Brading is derived, perhaps meant ‘the people living by the ridge of the downs’ and dates from about 683AD. Brading Roman Villa is one of four Roman villas on the island to have contained mosaic floors, where a known floor plan exists. The other three were at Carisbrooke, Combley and Newport. Also, there have been tantalising discoveries of tesserae on the island that suggest that more villas with mosaic floors existed.

Reconstructed image of Captain Thorp

The Brading Roman Villa began its resurrection in 1879 and instrumental in this was a resident of Yarbridge, a merchant seaman by the name of Captain Thorp. At this point, it may be of interest to the reader, if I quote the discovery from the journal of this gentleman…. ‘1^st May 1879. During my researches on Morton Farm, after probing many square yards of land, I hit upon broken Roman pottery in quantity on one spot near a hedge which divides Lady Oglander’s land from that of Morton Farm. Continuing my work, I found more tesserae in a loose state, but upon further search I found some in parts lay solid and evidently a pavement extending for some distance east and west. After making my work on the surface of the land all safe, I took bearings of the exact spot, and where I meditated to excavate at some future time.’ …….’March 22^nd 1880. The land, now being free of crops, and with the sanction of the owner of the property, I exposed to view the first portion of the Roman pavement I had discovered on 1^st May 1879 on Morton Farm.’ Captain Thorp continued his excavation work with a farmer, Mr Munns, until they had uncovered the mosaic containing the Orpheus design. The site of the villa at this time was owned by two different families. The southern half of the villa, where the Orpheus mosaic was found, belonged to Mr Munns. The northern half was owned by Lady Oglander, of the Nunwell Estate. Lady Oglander then progressed to purchase the field belonging to Mr Munns, so the whole site could then be under one ownership. Excavations continued over the next 15 years under Mr John Oglander FSA, initially with the guidance of the Antiquarians, JE Price and FG Hilton Price. The mosaics for many years were enclosed within a large steel-framed agricultural structure, clad in corrugated iron. This was financed by Lady Louisa Oglander. An average of 20,000 visitors a year paid 3 pence per head to view the three rooms containing the figured mosaic panels. Sadly, with the passing of time, the steel-framed structure began to show its age. Therefore a structural survey of the building, organised by the newly formed (1994) Oglander Roman Trust, which was a new registered charity, revealed that the iron stanchions were rusting at ground level. Under the Trusts driving determination and aided and supported with advice from English Heritage, the fruits of their work stand before you, an innovative new cover building. It has a grass sedum roof with a D-shaped ground plan. The building nestles unintrusively , but eye-catchingly within the surrounding environment. To our modern-day eye, I feel it is just as impressive as the Roman Villa would have seemed to our ancestors, who viewed it all those hundreds of years ago.



The shop

As I enter this unusual building, I feel inside me a huge wave of anticipation, then it engulfs my mind and senses like a crashing tsunami. I know that waiting for my eyes to feast upon are many individual panels, joined together to form two main floors, for each panel has its own individual story to tell. I stop and draw breath and find that I have landed in a welcoming and spacious lobby. The lobby area is thoughtfully laid out with a number of interesting books, glass objects, jewellery and gifts to view, handle and purchase. I highly recommend that the visitor purchases a guide book when paying the entrance fee. It is the most informative guide book that I have seen for many years. Contained in its XLVII pages is an introduction to Greek/Roman mythology and this knowledge will enhance your understanding of what you are about to view. Also within it is a section for the younger visitor. If we then turn to our right we enter through large, automatic glass doors, the building containing the mosaic floors. The sense of space inside creates a comforting and relaxing atmosphere. Looking up we notice the glue-laminated roof which trusses over the Villa in a single span. Also, for our advantage there is a ramped walkway which allows two levels of viewing. All around the inside walls are artefacts, informative boards and maps which help to create, within the imagination, an insight to everyday living in this establishment and the surrounding estate.
Before we look at the three mosaic floors, I should perhaps mention what is known of the stone types that make up the tesserae. The white tesserae are derived from the local chalk formation on the downs, overlooking the villa. Analysis has shown that the black/grey tesserae are from the black stone beds of the Kimmeridge clay of Dorset. Many orange and red shades of tesserae are present but these are man-made ceramic tesserae, almost certainly from the local clays. Purbeck marble, which is a limestone from Dorset, can present the green/blue colours. Some of this limestone is noticeable in the Medusa head within the mosaic in Room 12. Other colour shades have not yet been successfully analysed to determine their origins, but they could possibly come from the local sandstone deposits.

                       
                                                 THE MOSAIC FLOORS

The first mosaic to be revealed in 1880 was Room 3 which contains a strange looking ‘cock-headed man’, therefore it is fitting that we start the tour of the villa within this room. Within this room there is an effigy of Captain Thorp, one of the first people to discover this villa, kneeling over and viewing the mosaic. This mosaic was lifted in the 1980’s for conservation purposes and a supporting floor of concrete was laid underneath it. Of this colourful mosaic, only five of the original nine panels survive. This is a shame, for this denies us a chance to interpret the overall meaning of this floor. Nevertheless, the remaining five panels have themselves created many interesting and debateable interpretations. The central medallion and the one surviving corner quadrant contain a bust, both possibly depicting Bacchus. This is possibly confirmed by the single row of black tesserae across the right shoulder which depicts a staff/thyrsus. Bacchus was the God of wine and revelry and he travelled to all the four corners of the then known world which included Greece, Asia Minor, Ethiopia and India. Bacchus, who travelled in a chariot, was accompanied by men known as satyrs and women known as maenads Therefore, it could be that all four quadrants of this mosaic contained the bust of satyrs. In one of the many stories of Bacchus/Dionysus, we are told that when his wife Ariadne died he had her crown, which was decorated with five stars, put into the Heavens as the constellation, Corona. The staff/thyrsus, which is shown over his shoulder, was also a powerful wand and one of the benefits of this wand was that Bacchus could use it to destroy those who opposed his cult and the freedom this represented.

Gladiatorial scene. By M Rule and K Sturgess 1974

Below the central Bacchus medallion a gladiatorial scene can be viewed. To the left is a retiarius dressed in a protective tunic with extra padded material on his left arm. The retiarius has presumably already dispatched his net towards his rival, possibly a secutor, in the hope of entangling him. The retiarius shown here is striking his opponent’s hooded head with a trident and will possibly be following this up with a thrust from his knife.

The running fox. By M Rule and K sturgess 1974

The panel to the left of the Bacchus medallion contains a scene with a running fox, a tree and part of a building. As I continue to view it, what begins to drip into my mind, is the fable ‘The Fox and the Grapes’written by Aesop, the Greek slave story-teller. In the fable we are told that a fox stumbles upon some grapes, just ripening on a vine, which has been trained over a lofty branch. Wishing to quench his thirst, the fox takes a run and a jump at the hanging bunch of grapes. After a number of unsuccessful attempts, unable to reach them he gives up and runs off declaring ‘I am sure they would have been sour anyway.’ The moral of this fable is that ‘it is easy to despise what you cannot get’, (now known as ‘sour grapes’). Possibly, at the end of the branches, in the mosaic, we are viewing bunches of grapes and not leaves. If we now turn our attention to the building in the mosaic, it is noticeable that part of it is protruding out next to the fox’s head. I interpret this as a chute into which grapes were thrown before the juice was pressed out of them. Therefore the building could have been a wine-press/torculum. If the reader refers to page 266 of volume 3 of the book Roman Mosaics of Britain Part 1, by David Neal and Stephen Cosh, this chute can be clearly seen. I think that the overall message of this mosaic is that Bacchus is declaring that grapes are better suited for wine making than they are for eating.

The cock-headed man. By M Rule and K Sturgess 1974 

The next panel to view is the one to the right of the Bacchus medallion. Within it can be seen a ‘cock-headed man’, a building with steps leading to up to its door and to the right of this building two leopards with wings are noticed. I am confused by this and wonder if the mosaicist was trying to depict griffins. The griffins were part lion and part eagle, the lion being king of the beasts and the eagle being king of the birds. In antiquity griffins were revered as being powerful and majestic creatures. Within this scene they symbolise the guardians of the arena. The cock-headed man is dressed like a lanista, recognisable by his tunic, he was a trainer of animals to be used in the arena. The lanista is possibly wearing a mask of a cock, symbolising the high regard that he had for the fighting cock. The cock was a fearless and courageous combatant. Greek history tells us that even lions, king of the beasts, were wary of the cock. At a given time the lanista would begin to ascend the steps and the audience would fall silent in expectation. He would enter the henhouse/gallinaria through the door depicted here in black tesserae. Inside, fighting cocks would have been kept in a darkened environment in individual cages. After a few moments, the lanista would reappear on the top step, holding aloft two fighting cocks. One in his left hand the other in his right. The cocks would be individually marked so they could be easily recognised. At this sight the crowd would erupt with excitement and expectancy. As the lanista descended the steps a frenzy of betting would take place within the crowd. Cock fighting goes back many thousands of years and Greek history tells us that the commander of the Greek Army, General Themistocles, organised cock fighting for his troops to view on the night before a battle against the invading Persians. The point the General was making to his troops, through watching the cock fighting, would be that the cock would continue fighting until he killed his opponent or he himself was killed. This was the sort of courage that Themistocles demanded from his troops when the battle descended to hand-to-hand combat. Even in Roman times, Julius Caesar was a fan of cockfighting. This room could also have been a place of worship, known as Christian Gnosticism. One of the symbols used by the sect on amulets is that of a fowl-headed man and therefore the building in the mosaic could represent a temple. Overall, I feel that this floor is a wonderful piece of craftsmanship and design. As the panels consist of a combination of squares and rectangles, it adds more interest to the viewing eye. The use of red and grey colours with an outer band of black in the borders of the panels, helps to highlight the content of the individual panels. It is refreshing to see this type of border rather than the usual borders of guilloche. The colours used in the tesserae, although now faded over the course of time, would have looked impacting when freshly laid. The tesserae are neatly constructed and include a number of colours consisting of red, white, black, yellow and a grey/blue.

Room 6 Orpheus

Room 6 Orpheus By M Rule and K Sturgess 1974

We now make our way to view Room VI, which contains a mosaic panel depicting Orpheus. This mosaic lies within the original entrance hall of the villa. The hall had a simple but hard-wearing red and grey floor laid in a chequerboard design. The walls of the original hall were richly decorated with illustrations which included a parrot-like bird and a green basket of purple plums. The central medallion of this floor is enclosed in a circle of guilloche, this in turn is sealed on both sides (inner and outer) by a black and white circle of tesserae. If we now view outwards it is noticed that this itself sits in a box of black and white tesserae with lost designs within its spandrels of the four corners. The whole design is then framed in a continuing box of interlocking guilloche. The coloured tesserae on view within this mosaic would have included black, white, red, grey, a blue/pale grey and buff, which was possibly mudstone. Orpheus was the son of Apollo and the Muse of epic poetry, Calliope. Orpheus himself was a legendary musician, poet and prophet in Ancient Greek religion and myth. Major stories about him are centred on his ability to charm all living things with his music when playing the lyre. There are many engrossing stories about him including that Zeus ended his life by striking Orpheus with lightening for having revealed the mysteries of the Gods to men. When he died the Gods placed his lyre in the Heavens as the constellation Lyra. Within this mosaic we view Orpheus seated and wearing a red Phrygian cap, which depicts freedom, and is clothed in a tunic and a red cloak. His playing of the lyre has attracted an audience of animals. Although some have been lost over the course of time, some are still visible. On the left, as we view it, a monkey/ape and possibly a peacock can be seen. To the right, as we view it, there is a fox and, intriguingly, a local bird, recognised by its red beak and red legs to be a chough.


Room 9

Central view of room 9. By M Rule and K Sturgess 1974

Beyond this mosaic we can view Room IX. This room measures 19 feet and 9 inches square and contains a geometric mosaic pavement. This, in all probability, was a dining room and would have been adorned with attractive painted wall-plaster. The viewer’s attention is immediately drawn to the centre of this mosaic where an ‘eye’ seems to be returning ones gaze. I interpret the‘eye’ as being regarded in antiquity as an amulet/talisman, used as a symbol to ward off evil influences and, therefore, protecting the room and those who used it. The ‘eye’, composed of black/grey tesserae’ is enclosed in a circle of white. This, in turn, rests in a larger circle of red /orange tesserae. This itself is composed in a blue/grey square (set as a diamond) and is protected by a surrounding white border. As we continue to look outwards a red/orange square is noticed, which is surrounded by a large blue/grey square. Many of the coloured tesserae in this geometric mosaic are difficult to interpret as a result of burning. This could have been caused when the villa’s inhabited life was ended due to a destructive fire.




Astrologer/ Astronomer



Winter-Room 12




If we now continue down the villa we can view Room XII, a bipartic (two parts) room linked together by a central rectangular panel. This whole rectangle is filled with interlocking guilloche, containing a square and either side of the square, two smaller upright rectangles. Within the square a bearded figure of a seated, partly clothed man can be seen. With increasing interest, to the figure’s right, a globe and above this a sun-dial (?), which is resting on a column, can be noticed. To the figure’s left we see a cup containing a twig (?) or a feather (?) or a spoon (?), resting on the outer rim. As I view this panel, I feel that the draw-bridge of my mind is slowly lowering and I begin to feel more intimate with this seated, partly clad, muscular and bearded male. The figure holds a rod in his right hand, which is pointing to the globe and the tesserae within the globe are arranged to define the four quarters of the earth. The dial upon the column is depicting twelve compartments representing the twelve signs of the zodiac. The astrologer is, therefore, about to cast a horoscope. The vase/cup could have possibly contained wine. The wine would have been scattered before the horoscope was cast, as an insurance against bad luck. Also, we notice that the instuments are placed on the astrologer’s right hand side, which holds another belief that omens appearing on this side were lucky. Those coming from the left would have held the opposite. This belief of the right being of good and the left being of bad luck, is bourne out when guests entering a dining room are requested to enter by the right foot first.


The two parts of Room 12. By M Rule and K Sturgess 1974

The Medusa Mosaic with two rectangular panels. By M Rule and K Sturgess 1974

Alternatively, we are viewing an astronomer surrounded by the tools of his trade.The two small upright rectangles are identical, both containing diamond-shaped lozengers and their centres seem to be depicting an eye. Each eye seems to have a single row of tesserae, pointing outwards, in a north, east, south and west direction. If we relate this to the central bearded figure, symbolically this could read that one eye would have been cast towards the earth and the other eye cast towards the heavens. As I continue to view the seated figure, I wonder which person from antiquity this figure is depicting. The two names I find sparring together in my mind are Hipparchus, a scientific astronomer and observer, and Aratus. Aratus describes the constellations and believed in education and teaching and is best known for his poetry about the constellations and weather signs.

The Perseus and Andromeda panel

Above the central panel we can view two squares of guilloche, one seated within the other. All the coloured tesserae within the guilloche in this mosaic are of red, white and a blue/grey and these are outlined in black. Four squares have been constructed in the corners separated by rectangles, but sadly only one of the rectangles now survives. The centre of this mosaic has perished almost completely. The missing centre has fuelled a number of theories and debates by interested academics. Some of their theories/readings are drawn from other Romano British mosaics and from mosaics from distant lands. The female busts in the corners are representing the four seasons, although Autumn in the north-west corner is lost. In the South-west corner is Summer, her head decked with roses or poppies. In the south-east corner is Spring decorated with a wreath of fresh flowers. In the north-east corner sits the bust of Winter, warmly clad in a hooded cloak and over her left shoulder is a branch with a dead bird dangling from it by its legs. Perhaps the dead bird signifies that winter takes its toll on the weak and vulnerable. Just beyond and to the west of the remaining rectangular panel, in the bordering red tesserae and sitting in an additional decoration of white fret pattern, is a swastika.

The Four Seasons

The Swastika



The swastika (sanskrit svastika ‘all is well’), an equilateral cross, with its four arms bent at 90 degrees, is in all probability a symbol of good luck. This relates to the four seasons as depicted in the four corners of the mosaic below. Each of the seasons , spring, summer and autumn requires its own relative weather to guarantee a successful harvest. This then ensures the financial security of the villa and provides a store of food for the inhabitants of the villa and its estate to combat the long dark cold days of winter. It has been well recorded that the only surviving rectangular panel depicted the lovers, Perseus and Andromeda. Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danae. Andromeda was the daughter of Cepheus , an Aethiopian king, and Cassiopeia was his queen. The story that this panel seems to be depicting is Perseus rescuing Andromeda from being sacrificed by Neptune to a sea monster (not shown in this panel). When the monster appeared from the waves, Perseus showed it the head of the gorgon Medusa and the monster was turned to stone. Perseus and Andromeda were subsequently married, and on their deaths took their place in the heavens as constellations. Very little of the other panels survive. In the panel to the north we can view a fragmented torso of a man, to the east, but now barely visible, is the peak of a pitched, red tiled roof of a building.

Medusa Mosaic

If we now look to the east we can view a mosaic floor with its central medallion containing the head of Medusa. She is surrounded by four panels, each depicting a man and a woman. Directly to the north, east, south and west are smaller, triangular panels containing individual figures. All the eight panels are edged on the inside with black tesserae, with the figures resting in a buff background. In the four corners below the panels containing the two figures, sits an eye-catching design of black and white triangles. A continuing guilloche encloses all of the two-figured designs and the central medallion. A thicker, deeper guilloche contains the whole mosaic floor. The mosaicist has excelled with his skill of the blending and use of the colours and we can view buff, black, white, red, shades of brown, shades of pink, yellows, purples and blues. Within the four two-figure panels a number of stories from Greek/Roman mythology await us. If we look at the panel in the northeast corner, the one which has been the most damaged in the course of time, we can read perhaps two stories. The first is of Achilles, son of the nymph Thetis and Peleus, king of Myrmidons. Thetis wishing to keep her son safe from the war sends Achilles, in the disguise of a girl, to the court of Lycomedes, king of Skyros. Odysseus learns from the prophet Calchas that the Achaeans would only be able to capture Troy with the aid of Achilles. Therefore Odysseus goes to the court of Lycomedes dressed as a woman, so he can blend in with the women of the court, knowing that Achilles would be amongst them. Odysseus arranges for a trumpet alarm to be sounded, all the women flee in panic, except one, who turns out to be Achilles. He throws off his disguise ready to defend the women of the court. Odysseus thereupon persuades Achilles to help capture Troy. Interestingly, a similar but more complete panel of this scene is depicted in a mosaic at Cologne, Germany. Alternatively within this panel we could be viewing Apollo chasing Daphne, a daughter of the river God, Peneus. Daphne is fleeing Apollo’s advances of love, as Cupid has shot Daphne with an arrow tipped with lead to repel love. At the same time, Apollo has been pierced by the love arrow, the tip of which contains gold. This was Cupid’s revenge towards Apollo, after Apollo had scolded him for playing with real arrows rather than his toy arrows.

Medusa Mosaic

If we now view the panel in the northwest corner this depicts Ceres and Triptolemus. Ceres, the Goddess of agriculture and civilisation, wears a long red dress and a white cloak which is wrapped around her. She holds a staff in her left hand and with her right hand offers Triptolemus an ear of wheat. Triptolemus is seen here naked and holds out his right hand to accept the wheat, while in his left hand he holds a plough. Ceres gave birth to a daughter named Persephone, the Goddess of vegetation. Persephone was abducted by Pluto who made off with her to the underworld. Ceres, searching for her daughter, arrives in Eleusis and in the house of Celeus, she comes upon the sick son of Metanira, named Triptolemus. Ceres disguised as an old woman during the search, kisses the sickly boy and gives him vitality from her divine lips. The people complain to Jupiter of famine as Ceres has been neglecting her duties during the search for her daughter. Jupiter assessing the situation intervenes and rescues Persephone from the Underworld and reunites her with her mother. Consequently, Triptolemus, now a fit and healthy young man and the foster son of Ceres, is engaged by Ceres and taught the secrets of agriculture. She grants Triptolemus a chariot drawn by winged dragons. In it he travelled the world teaching people how to plough, sow and reap.

A modern reconstruction

Next to view is the panel in the southwest corner. The male figure to the right, in the guise of a shepherd, wears a Phrygian cap, baggy trousers and a short tunic. He carries a crook in his left hand and pan-pipes in his right. The female figure seems to be wearing reeds in her hair and in her right hand she seems to be tilting an upturned vase. The possible reeds in her hair indicate that she depicts a water nymph. Unfortunately it is difficult to confirm this as the upturned vase (if it is a vase) shows no depiction of liquid dripping from its rim. I wonder if the mosaicist has missed out in error in not illustrating this. The two figures could depict Attis and Sagaritis, the water nymph of the Turkish river Sangarius. One version of the story is as follows – Attis was a worshipper of the Goddess Cybele and she tells him to guard her temple and not to marry. Unfortunately, Attis fell in love with the water nymph Sagaritis. Cybele, in a fit of jealousy causes Sagaritis’ death, Attis distraught flees to Mount Dindynus, where he kills himself. Another version involving Attis and the Goddess Cybele unfolds as follows - Attis is the child of Nana, a daughter of the river-God, Sangarius. Nana abandoned the baby Attis and he was brought up by a he-goat. As Attis grew into a young man he became very handsome and god-like and Cybele fell in love with him. Attis was to marry the daughter of Midas, king of Pessinos. Before the wedding ceremony was complete Cybele appeared and in the storm of her jealous passion she drove Attis mad and he killed himself. As Cybele’s storm of jealousy subsided, she became distraught at what she had done. She repented and with the help of the God Jupiter, Attis was resurrected. Attis became the Phrygian god of growth and fertility.

Alternatively, this panel could depict Paris and Oenone. Paris was a prince of Troy and Oenone was a mountain nymph. They fell in love and had a son called Corythus. Oenone was a mountain nymph on Mount Ida, in Phrygia. Paris was the son of the king Prian and the queen Hecuba. Paris fell in love with Oenone when he was a shepherd on the slopes of Mount Ida. He abandons her for Helen of Sparta. Out of revenge Ornone sends their son Corythus to guide the Greeks to Troy. Paris, not recognising his own son, kills him. Later, Paris mortally wounded, returns to Oenone begging her to heal him with her herbal arts. With scorn, Oenone tells him to return to the bed of Helen. Paris dies on the slopes of Mount Ida where they had met. Oenone, overcome with remorse, throws herself onto Paris’ burning funeral pyre.

The Medusa Mosaic

If we now observe the panel in the southeast corner we see the male figure, Lycurgus, king of Thrace, nude holding in both hands a double-headed axe. He seems to be threatening the kneeling Ambrosia, one of the nymphs accompanying the God of wine, Bacchus. The story goes that Lycurgus is insensed that Bacchus is travelling through his kingdom instructing men in the art of wine-making. As his fury builds Lycurgus attacks the maenads, who were mortal women with many powers and the female followers of Bacchus. The maenads scatter. Ambrosia seems trapped and in panic begs Mother Earth to rescue her. In response, Ambrosia is transformed into a vine. The vine begins to entwine Lycurgus who is eventually strangled to death by it. There is an alternative ending to this story where Lycurgus is driven mad and hacks in a frenzied and indiscriminate way at the approaching vine, eventually hacking himself to death.

If we now turn our attention to the four single-figured panels we can view four individual young men with cloaks draped over their left shoulders. Each figure seems to be blowing into a conch shell symbolising the wind from that direction – north, east, south and west. The parents of the winds were Aeolus, son of Poseidon who married Eos, a daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Thea. Four of their sons became the following winds. Boreas became the north wind, the bringer of cold winter air. Notus was the south wind, bringer of storms in late summer and autumn. Notus, for some reason I cannot explain, is depicted in the panel facing in the opposite direction to his three brothers. A third brother, Zephyrus, was the west wind, bringer of light spring and early summer breezes, and Euros was the east wind, bringer of warmth and rain.

The whole mosaic is bound together by the central medallion depicting the head of Medusa from which eight serpents/snakes project. The head rests in the middle of a circular band of blue-grey Purbeck stone. The Medusa, in all probability, was a protected amulet to guard against evil influences and, therefore, protects all those mortals who use the room. The room possibly could have been divided at any time by a thick and luxurious curtain drawn across the central rectangular panel.

Merman-Tritons and Nymphs

To the east we can view the final rectangular panel of this floor which rests in its own frame of guilloche. It depicts a scene from the sea containing figures of Nereids and Tritons. The Tritons (males) are represented as humans down to their waists, beyond that they have tails of fishes/dolphins and were the demigods of the sea. The Nereids (females), seen here lounging on the tails of the Tritons, were the goddesses of the sea. In their care was the rich food bounty of the sea. The Triton in the centre of this panel seems to be holding in his right hand an oar (?) and in his left hand a plate of seafood (?). The Triton to the south seems to be holding a shepherds crook in his right hand, his left hand seems to be embracing the Nereid. The Triton to the north also embraces a Nereid and in his left hand is, possibly, a sea shell which when blown into would be used to calm or raise the waves. In trying to read this mosaic panel two questions come into my mind, why is a shepherds crook and an oar depicted in it? I wonder if this could have been an input by the proprietor of the villa. Unfortunately this panel was damaged by a flash flood in 1994, causing a staining on the top of the oar held by the Triton in the centre of the panel. The introduction, by the flooding, of iron oxides and fertilizers chemically altered the composition of the grout between the tesserae and on the far western side of this room some of the mosaic floor has risen, bubbled up and blown. 

Excavation of the south range

Excavation of the north range

                                                                        CONCLUSION

At the period of time that these mosaics were crafted, late 3^rd to early 4^th century, the proprietor of the villa was, no doubt, extremely wealthy. But these extraordinary mosaics could well indicate that he was highly educated, well read and perhaps a man with a vision for the future. I can visualise that this establishment, at certain periods, would have been a place of education for the local inhabitants, especially for the young with their inquisitive and lively minds. They could have been tutored at the villa in Roman literature, Greek and Roman mythology and in science and astronomy. At night they could view the mysteries and the constellations of the sky, not forgetting that the sky then would have been free of the light pollution caused by increased urbanisation that obscures our views of the night sky today.
After the island was secured, Vespasian would have possibly left a small detachment of soldiers who would have worked with the Island’s tribal leaders and elders to create a settled and prosperous, lasting administration. Recent archaeological excavations, coupled with a geophysical survey by English Heritage, suggest that this site has seen human activity over several thousand years. There is evidence for Neolithic and Bronze Age activity here. In all probability, at the time of the Roman invasion led by Vespasian, there was already a small farmstead here and over a period of time this would have begun to prosper. With increasing wealth the farmstead would have expanded to become a villa with a range of buildings to the north and to the south. There is evidence of crop farming for wheat, barley and oats. Animal bones, including that of cattle, sheep, pigs and goats, were also found during the course of archaeological excavations. Brading Haven at this period in time was a natural harbour and port. The villa could have gained extra wealth by controlling imports and exports from the port. Some of the exported local Bembridge limestone can be found in the construction of Fishbourne Roman Palace and other villas on the south coast of the mainland. Interestingly, Roman history tells us that between 286 and 296AD, Britain was governed in turn by two usurper emporers, The first being Carausius who was assassinated by his own finance minister, Allectus. Allectus claimed himself as emporer and based his fleet of ships on the Isle of Wight. This came to an end in 296 AD when Allectus was defeated by the Caeser Constantius. The decisive battle was possibly at Calleva Attrbatum (Silchester), although it seems that Constantius did not reach Britain until the fighting was over. Therefore, by 296 AD, Britain was reunited once more with the Roman Empire. It is a possibility that all three of these men would have known and possibly stayed for a short period of time at Brading Roman Villa. A collection of coins found within the villa, and on the surrounding estate, starts in the reign of the Roman Emporer Domitianus, 81-96 AD. This collection runs through to the reign of Honorius, 393-423 AD which, perhaps, indicates some form of inhabitation over a period of 350 years. It seems possible that the villa’s final destruction was caused by fire, but by what cause and when goes unrecorded. Eventually, the migration to Britain and the Isle of Wight by Germanic peoples from North Germany, Northern Netherlands and Southern Scandinavia would have introduced to the island a new culture with a different building technology, embracing wood and thatch. As the Island’s elders died out, the Brading villa would have been lost from memory and consequently, with the ravishes of time, disappeared into history.

As I break free from the embrace of this intriguing villa and make my way down the gentle slopes to catch the Island bus back to Ryde, a thought begins to bubble up in my mind, the thought being that two paths of human nature seem to march continually, side-by-side, one of the paths being the ability to create and the other path being the desire to destroy. This to my mind poses the question – is this then, as human beings, how we perceive evolution?