“This is certainly the most exciting Roman mosaic discovery in the UK in the last century,” John Thomas, deputy director of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services and project manager on the excavations, said.
They added that while mosaics were commonly featured in buildings across the Roman Empire, the Rutland mosaic is unique in that it features Achilles and his battle with Hector in the Trojan War. University of Leicester Archaeological Services Achilles (left) and Hector duelling on chariots. “I knew that they had no business being there, so when I got home, I had a look at the field on Google Earth and noticed a crop mark we’d never noticed before.” “I noticed these bits of pottery, oyster shells, and what I now know to be orange Roman roof tiles,” Irvine told the i newspaper. The remarkable discovery was made by Jim Irvine, 42, when he found pottery shards on his father’s farm while taking a stroll during the UK’s first lockdown in 2020. The 828 square foot mosaic, discovered in the county of Rutland, is the first of its kind to be found in Britain. Researchers said that the mosaic likely belonged to a wealthy Roman between the 3rd and 4th century AD.Ī Roman villa complex containing a rare mosaic depicting scenes from Homer’s Iliad has been unearthed in a farmer’s field in England. The 828 square foot mosaic artwork depicts scenes from Homer’s ‘The Iliad,’ the ancient Greek epic poem. Historic England ArchiveĪ man taking a lockdown walk on his father’s farm stumbled across a rare Roman mosaic. Aerial view of the excavations of a large Roman mosaic in Rutland, England.