![]() Mud and silt from the Orontes tens of feet deep did not reveal the grand buildings and elegant sculptures for which the excavators had hoped. 1 Environs of Antioch under the Roman Empire. Despite the Great Depression, funds were raised, and on March 4, 1932, in freezing temperatures and lashing rain, excavation began in the straggling town of Antakya on top of the ancient site.įig. Princeton took responsibility for conducting the expedition and publishing the finds. A Committee for the Excavation of Antioch-on-the-Orontes was formed in December 1931, representing Princeton University, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Worcester Art Museum, and the Musées Nationaux de France. After the First World War, Syria became a French mandate territory, and in 1930 the Syrian Antiquities Service granted Princeton University a concession to excavate at Antioch for six years. ![]() It lay fifteen miles upstream from the mouth of the Orontes River in northern Syria in the flood plain at the foot of Mt. Under the Roman Empire, it was a flourishing city of 800,000 only Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople were bigger. by one of the successors of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian general Seleukos I Nicator, who called the new foundation after his father, Antiochos. ExcavationĪntioch was founded in 300 B.C.E. Their migration from the floors of private houses in a Near Eastern city under Roman rule to the walls of a dining hall in a research institute in North America in the twentieth century is a story of affluence, oblivion, and rediscovery. At the same time, the intricate designs of these mosaics are vivid testimony to the tastes and craftsmanship of late Roman society. They have been there since Simons Hall was opened in 1971, their geometric patterns a fitting decoration for an institute renowned for math and physics, and their subtle color palette a discreet complement to the exposed concrete of the Brutalist style of the 1960s. Please leave us a comment if you recognize any pattern we did not include.Hanging on the wall at the Institute for Advanced Study are four late antique mosaics from the environs of Antioch, the capital of the Roman province of Syria and one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire. Roman mosaic patterns are beautiful additions for architectural elements like stair risers or classical friezes. ![]() Common fillets are black and white without change of direction. The below is an interesting example of monochrome fillet. Many examples exist, the most significant is the mosaic in the House of Drinking Contest.Īncient semi-circular shape featured in many Roman mosaics.Īn adornment of feminin forms typically found on Dyonisus or Bacchus mosaics.Ĭommon ornamental element of Greek and Roman architecture, also appeared on mosaic adornments.Īnother adornment borrowed from Greek arquitecture and pottery.īorrowed from Greek art ornaments, the early Roman mosaic included palmettes as a mosaic pattern. For example the medusa mosaic in the House of Apuleius.Ĭommon decoration when the delimiting lines of mosaic compositions get crossed. Very commonly used together with Medusa mosaics, this geometric patterns creates a very sophisticated optical effect on floors. Usually made of a colorful palette, this pattern resembles the overlapping of edges found in the nature like those of fish scales and pinecones. This pattern of Greek origin was widely used for early mosaic floors and the more modest designs. Three-strand guilloche Four-strand guilloche Six-strand guilloche Chain guilloche Cubes in 3d perspectiveĬommonly combined with other geometric compositions, 3d cubes were repeatedly appearing on Roman mosaics or as a whole composition itself.Ī widely mystified symbol but with most probable origin as a symbol of ancient wool weaving techniques. ![]() Symbols of eternity and unity, Greek key meanders were common for adornment in Greek and Roman architecture, paintings, pottery and mosaics.Īlternative Meander pattern to the common Greek key.īroken & Straight meander Simple guillocheĭefining the visual borders of compositions and adding visual movement, the guilloche is one of the most common Roman mosaic patterns made by interlacing 2 moving strand lines. With strong and straight masculine lines, mosaic makers were using it as a geometric mosaic adornment. ![]() The swastika is a sign of good luck since the ancient times. Glossary of typical ornamental Roman mosaic patterns with pictures linked to examples from our Roman mosaics for sale.Īfter looking at this glossary, you will be able to easily recognize mosaic patterns and give name to the typical Roman mosaic adornments. ![]()
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