Roman mosaic, Rudston, East Yorkshire, c.300-400 AD
The figure in the middle of this mosaic is the winner of a chariot race. He can be seen in his chariot pulled by four horses. We can tell he won because he is holding his winnerâs crown.
Wealthy Romans decora6ted their floors with mosaics. These were made of cubes of stone called tesserae. This mosaic shows people and animals but some were just patterns. This mosaic is from a house in Rudston, East Yorkshire.
The central panel of this mosaic depicts a victorious charioteer. He is standing in his quadriga (four horse chariot) holding his symbols of victory. These are a palm tree frond and a wreath, the winnerâs crown. There is a grey hat on his head which was a crude type of crash helmet. The red colour of his tunic shows him as a charioteer of the russata factio, the âred teamâ.
The charioteer is surrounded by four circles and four rectangles. In each circle was a portrait of a womanâs head. These represented the four seasons. The portrait representing Spring is to the top right of the charioteer. This image of âSpringâ is known as a particularly high quality piece of mosaic work. The image of âWinterâ is missing and would probably have worn a hooded cloak.
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.
