Mosaics were very popular in the Roman Empire. From the colorful, marble (or glass cubes) squares various patterns were laid on the floors or walls. Many beautiful ancient compositions have been preserved to our day, which prove the craftsmanship of ancient craftsmen. Below 10 places where we will see some of the most beautiful Roman mosaics.
I. Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Turkey
The Zeugma Mosaic Museum is located in Gaziantep (Turkey) and has the largest collection of Roman mosaics in the world, which together cover an area of 2448 m². Interestingly, further parts of the complex are to be put into operation, on which further mosaics will be visible. In total, over 3,000 m² of antique mosaics are to be made available.
The most popular mosaic is the so-called “Gypsy”, which was unveiled (from under the column) between 1998 and 1999. Interestingly, this mosaic was largely demolished and taken out of Turkey as early as the 1960s. In 2018, however, some of the mosaic fragments were lost.
Scientists gave the mosaic the name” Gypsy” because of the characteristic clothing and round earrings. It is believed, however, that the mosaic shows either one of Menadas (companion of Dionysus) or Gaia – the goddess of the earth. There are also voices suggesting that he is really a man, and maybe even Alexander the Great himself.
In addition to mosaics, in the museum tourists can see 140 m² of frescoes, 4 Roman fountains, 20 columns, 4 sculptures, a statue of Mars, grave steles and sarcophagi.
II. The Bardo Museum in Tunisia
The Bardo Museum in Bardau (Tunisia) is a place where we can find a really huge collection of Roman mosaics. The collections are located on three floors of the building.
In the museum, we come across works showing the everyday life of ancient North Africa, scenes from myths and famous figures from history. This is where you can see the preserved image of the Roman poet Virgil, which is shown at the time of the creation of Aeneid; the mosaic can be seen even muse of tragedy and stories that accompany the writer in a creative act.
It is worth mentioning that on March 18, 2015 a terrorist attack took place in the museum, which killed 24 people. However, the collections were not damaged. The responsibility for the attack took on the so-called Islamic State.
III. The Getty Villa in the United States
Getty Villa was founded in 1974 in Malibu, Los Angeles (USA) and is an educational centre and museum dedicated to ancient culture, especially Greece, Rome and Etruria. The museum’s collection contains about 44,000 antique objects, dated from 6500 BCE to 400 CE.
Among the artefacts, we can admire a really large collection of Roman mosaics, depicting scenes from mythology, everyday life, nature and arena performances. Among the most interesting objects is the ancient monster – Jellyfish – located in the central part of the illusionist composition. The mosaic is located in the museum lobby and is dated to the 1st century CE.