Hemsworth Roman Venus Mosaic

 

Introduction

This evening, I am posting information on the Hemsworth Roman Villa in southern England with emphasis on a magnificent mosaic panel (from the villa) which is on display at the British Museum in London.

Information on the Hemsworth Venus Mosaic 

The Hemsworth Villa was first located in 1831 but it seems that no action was taken at the time and agricultural work continued on the site until formal excavation took place in 1905-8. In the meantime continued deterioration of the archaeology occurred due to on-going agricultural work.

The villa sits on a north facing slope of a chalk spur in the angle between two Roman roads which converge on Bradbury Rings. The early 20th century excavations suggest there may have been a main central block with projecting wings at each end, with a passage to another wing.This layout is fairly standard for 4th century luxury villas. Refer Chedworth, Brading and North Leigh.for examples.

The villa is actually located at East Hemsworth near Witchampton, about 110 miles S.W. of London. 

Below is a video clip of the mosaic with supporting information. Here is a summary:

• The mosaic consist of a scene with Venus rising from the sea standing on a stylized shell and surrounded in the outer border by fanciful dolphins and other marine creatures.
• When first rescued before WW1 (until then it had likely been underground for about 1500 years) the panel was heavily restored with curve at outer edge slightly distorted.
• In Roman times the mosaic had been wall mounted in over 50 sections backed with stone tiles and mortar.
• Cleaning has revealed the original bold and subtle colours of the tesserae. 

Here is the video clip

 More information on Roman Britain can be found here.