Roman mosaic, Rudston, East Yorkshire, c.200-300 AD
This is known as the Geometric Mosaic. It is from a house in Rudston, East Yorkshire. Wealthy Romans decorated their floors with mosaics. These were made of tiny cubes of stone called tesserae. Some mosaics had people and animals in them. Others were just patterns like this one. Not everybody could afford to decorate their homes with mosaics. Mosaics were used on the floors of the best rooms of the biggest Roman house in the area. A Roman site near Rudston in East Yorkshire has been known of since 1839. There were excavations there in the 1930s, 1960s and 1970s. These led to the discovery of several finely-preserved mosaics. These include this Geometric mosaic. The design at the centre of this mosaic has four motifs known as âswastika-peltaeâ. The swastika was an ancient symbol used long before the 20th century Nazis decided to use it. The Roman displays at Hull contain mosaics from villas to the north and south of the Humber. These mosaics are of a high quality and illustrate what a wealthy villa owner might aspire to. They are reckoned to form the best single collection of Roman mosaics in northern Britain. Roman estates, at home and in their empire, were managed from villas. As a residence for a landowner the villa could be prestigious and comfortable while common folk lived in basic farmsteads. The domestic ranges of a villa might have hot and cold bath suites and warm central heating.
