May 2014 - Romano-British Mosaics
On 2nd May at Merchistoun Hall, Dr. Stephen Cash, a recognised authority on Romano-British Mosaics, gave a beautifully illustrated talk which combined the archaeological aspects with the stories behind the particular designs of mosaics discovered all over England.
Mosaics, appearing after the Roman conquest and now seen as some of the earliest Fine Art in Britain, consisted of large number of tiles made from locally sourced coloured stone and were status symbols only affordable by the rich. 90% of the Mosaics in Britain were of geometric format; common themes involved hunting, the four seasons, Orpheus with surrounding animals and designs to scare off the Evil Spirits. Designs for Baths involved aquatic and marine scenes.
The variety of subsequent questions; the extent of damage they had experienced, the large numbers of mosaics and what types of ‘mortar’, indicated how well the talk was received.