A Roman mosaic that lay buried under a city centre for more than 1,500 years has been painstakingly lifted from the ground and preserved for future generations.
The mosaic, made up of thousands of small cubes of stone and brick, was unearthed when work began to build a new apartment block in Leicester last winter.
It was discovered, along with other extensive Roman remains, by members of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services - the same team that discovered the remains of Richard III underneath a car park in the city.
Now that's a jigsaw! Archaeologists piece together 1,500-year-old Roman mosaic made up of thousands of small cubes found under apartment block
Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman mosaic from Leicester's city centre
It was discovered when building work began on a new apartment block
A team had to work in freezing cold and wet weather to painstakingly remove the incredible find which was buried for more than 1,500 years
By Amanda Cashmore For Mailonline
21 January 2018
A Roman mosaic that lay buried under a city centre for more than 1,500 years has been painstakingly lifted from the ground and preserved for future generations.
The mosaic, made up of thousands of small cubes of stone and brick, was unearthed when work began to build a new apartment block in Leicester last winter.
It was discovered, along with other extensive Roman remains, by members of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services - the same team that discovered the remains of Richard III underneath a car park in the city.
Painstaking: An archaeologist from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services carefully cleans the pavement
A pattern on the 1,500 year old mosaic which was unearthed when work began to build a new apartment block in Leicester
Experts say the three metre by two metre mosaic, which dates to the late 3rd or early 4th Century AD, would have formed part of the floor of a typical townhouse during Roman times.
Now a new film produced by the university shows how archaeologists successfully lifted and conserved the remarkable yet fragile find from the site next to the car park of a John Lewis department store.
The archaeologists said the mosaic was in a 'very delicate' condition as - after more than 1,500 years buried in the ground - the mortar grouting had decayed away and soil was the only thing holding it together.
The university has produced a film showing how archaeologists successfully lifted and conserved the remarkable find from the site next to the car park of a John Lewis department store
'Very delicate': After thousands of years the mortar grouting had decayed away and soil was the only thing holding the mosaic together
Archaeological conservator Theo Sturge had the added challenge of having to lift the mosaic in freezing cold and damp conditions.
Archaeologists said the fragment is about a quarter of the original floor of the house and is made of small cubes, each about 20mm square, known as tesserae. There is a thick border of red tesserae surrounding a central square of grey tesserae.
Picked out in red in the grey square are several decorations, including a geometric border of 'Swastika meander', foliage and a central flower-like pattern.
Experts claim that the three metre by two metre mosaic, which dates to the late 3rd or early 4th Century AD, would have formed part of the floor of a typical townhouse during Roman times
Mathew Morris, project officer at ULAS, said: 'The mosaic is not of the same high quality as the famous Blackfriars mosaic, which was found in Leicester in the 19th century and is one of the finest mosaics in Britain.
'Instead, it is likely to be typical of the type of floor more widely affordable to many of the Roman town's population.
'Lifting it was a huge challenge which was only successfully achieved because of the efforts of the entire team working closely together.
The mosaic picks out in red, within the grey square, several decorations, including a geometric border of 'Swastika meander', foliage and a central flower-like pattern
'The mosaic is made-up of thousands of tiny tesserae. These all had to be lifted and kept in the correct sequence to preserve the pattern on the mosaic.
'This was done by gluing hessian to the mosaic's surface to hold it together, then the mortar base into which the tesserae were set was cut away so that thin boards could be slid underneath the mosaic.
'The mosaic was then carefully lifted in sections and taken to the studio of our conservator, Theo Sturge, who had the challenge of conserving and reassembling it.'
Mr Sturge said: 'Many years ago, when I worked for Leicester Museum, I lifted the Blackfriars mosaic.
Freezing conditions: The removal of the delicate mosaic was made even trickier by the cold and damp weather as the archaeologists worked
'Coming back to Leicester to lift another, rather more humble, mosaic was a nostalgic trip.
'Ideally, we would have lifted it in warm dry conditions but this was not an option.
'Instead it was cold and damp and getting adhesive to stick was challenging. With the help of the archaeologists it proved possible - just.'
Mr Morris added: 'The finished mosaic looks fantastic.
'Theo has done an amazing job putting it back together. In some ways it's quite unusual to go to this level of effort and cost to conserve a mosaic of this quality, but actually because of its poorer quality you can see the craftsmanship behind it.
A 3-D model of the restored mosaic. Project officer Mathew Morris said of the ancient artefact: 'because of its poorer quality you can see the craftsmanship behind it'
A 3-D model of the mosaic in situe. The mosaic is made up of small cubes, each about 20mm square, known as tesserae
'You can see the direction the Roman workers were laying the stones in, you can see at one point one of the lines started to bend off and so they've had to turn one line into three to create a straight edge again.
'It's these little human touches and errors that you can see in it that are important because they give you those glimpses into how it was made, who made it and their attitude to work, that gives you that real insight into the people of Roman Leicester.'
The mosaic is set to go on display in Leicester.
The mosaic, made up of thousands of small cubes of stone and brick, was unearthed when work began to build a new apartment block in Leicester last winter.
It was discovered, along with other extensive Roman remains, by members of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services - the same team that discovered the remains of Richard III underneath a car park in the city.
Now that's a jigsaw! Archaeologists piece together 1,500-year-old Roman mosaic made up of thousands of small cubes found under apartment block
Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman mosaic from Leicester's city centre
It was discovered when building work began on a new apartment block
A team had to work in freezing cold and wet weather to painstakingly remove the incredible find which was buried for more than 1,500 years
By Amanda Cashmore For Mailonline
21 January 2018
A Roman mosaic that lay buried under a city centre for more than 1,500 years has been painstakingly lifted from the ground and preserved for future generations.
The mosaic, made up of thousands of small cubes of stone and brick, was unearthed when work began to build a new apartment block in Leicester last winter.
It was discovered, along with other extensive Roman remains, by members of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services - the same team that discovered the remains of Richard III underneath a car park in the city.
Painstaking: An archaeologist from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services carefully cleans the pavement
A pattern on the 1,500 year old mosaic which was unearthed when work began to build a new apartment block in Leicester
Experts say the three metre by two metre mosaic, which dates to the late 3rd or early 4th Century AD, would have formed part of the floor of a typical townhouse during Roman times.
Now a new film produced by the university shows how archaeologists successfully lifted and conserved the remarkable yet fragile find from the site next to the car park of a John Lewis department store.
The archaeologists said the mosaic was in a 'very delicate' condition as - after more than 1,500 years buried in the ground - the mortar grouting had decayed away and soil was the only thing holding it together.
The university has produced a film showing how archaeologists successfully lifted and conserved the remarkable find from the site next to the car park of a John Lewis department store
'Very delicate': After thousands of years the mortar grouting had decayed away and soil was the only thing holding the mosaic together
Archaeological conservator Theo Sturge had the added challenge of having to lift the mosaic in freezing cold and damp conditions.
Archaeologists said the fragment is about a quarter of the original floor of the house and is made of small cubes, each about 20mm square, known as tesserae. There is a thick border of red tesserae surrounding a central square of grey tesserae.
Picked out in red in the grey square are several decorations, including a geometric border of 'Swastika meander', foliage and a central flower-like pattern.
Experts claim that the three metre by two metre mosaic, which dates to the late 3rd or early 4th Century AD, would have formed part of the floor of a typical townhouse during Roman times
Mathew Morris, project officer at ULAS, said: 'The mosaic is not of the same high quality as the famous Blackfriars mosaic, which was found in Leicester in the 19th century and is one of the finest mosaics in Britain.
'Instead, it is likely to be typical of the type of floor more widely affordable to many of the Roman town's population.
'Lifting it was a huge challenge which was only successfully achieved because of the efforts of the entire team working closely together.
The mosaic picks out in red, within the grey square, several decorations, including a geometric border of 'Swastika meander', foliage and a central flower-like pattern
'The mosaic is made-up of thousands of tiny tesserae. These all had to be lifted and kept in the correct sequence to preserve the pattern on the mosaic.
'This was done by gluing hessian to the mosaic's surface to hold it together, then the mortar base into which the tesserae were set was cut away so that thin boards could be slid underneath the mosaic.
'The mosaic was then carefully lifted in sections and taken to the studio of our conservator, Theo Sturge, who had the challenge of conserving and reassembling it.'
Mr Sturge said: 'Many years ago, when I worked for Leicester Museum, I lifted the Blackfriars mosaic.
Freezing conditions: The removal of the delicate mosaic was made even trickier by the cold and damp weather as the archaeologists worked
'Coming back to Leicester to lift another, rather more humble, mosaic was a nostalgic trip.
'Ideally, we would have lifted it in warm dry conditions but this was not an option.
'Instead it was cold and damp and getting adhesive to stick was challenging. With the help of the archaeologists it proved possible - just.'
Mr Morris added: 'The finished mosaic looks fantastic.
'Theo has done an amazing job putting it back together. In some ways it's quite unusual to go to this level of effort and cost to conserve a mosaic of this quality, but actually because of its poorer quality you can see the craftsmanship behind it.
A 3-D model of the restored mosaic. Project officer Mathew Morris said of the ancient artefact: 'because of its poorer quality you can see the craftsmanship behind it'
A 3-D model of the mosaic in situe. The mosaic is made up of small cubes, each about 20mm square, known as tesserae
'You can see the direction the Roman workers were laying the stones in, you can see at one point one of the lines started to bend off and so they've had to turn one line into three to create a straight edge again.
'It's these little human touches and errors that you can see in it that are important because they give you those glimpses into how it was made, who made it and their attitude to work, that gives you that real insight into the people of Roman Leicester.'
The mosaic is set to go on display in Leicester.
