Fordington mosaic | |
---|---|
Artist | Dorchester School of Mosaicists |
Year | 2nd century AD |
Type | Mosaic |
Subject | Oceanus |
Dimensions | 715 cm× 480 cm(23.5 ft 2 in× 15.6 ft 189 in) |
Condition | Partially complete |
Location | Dorset County Museum, Dorchester |
The Fordington mosaic, also known as the Fordington High Street mosaic, is a Roman floor mosaic from the 2nd century AD, found in Fordington, Dorchester in England, in what was once Durnovaria; [1] [2] it is now on display at the Dorset Museum. It depicts Oceanus, marine life, and the ocean. [3]
The Fordington mosaic was created by the Dorchester School of Mosaicists during the 2nd century AD (previously believed to have been created during the 4th century AD); it is believed that they created this mosaic due to their specific style of theming mosaics around sea gods and marine life. [4] It was created for a town house on the outskirts of Durnovaria (which was located near 16 High Street, Fordington) [5] and was a pavement mosaic. [6]
The town house was then likely demolished shortly after the Romans left England around 410 AD as no archaeological remains that pre-date the post-Medieval period were identified from the site of the town house, [5] suggesting the house was abandoned.
The Fordington mosaic was discovered in 1903 on the site of Lott & Walne's Fordington foundry, and it was excavated in October 1927 with the help of poet Thomas Hardy, [7] who as a result of excavating the mosaic became ill and died shortly after. The mosaic was lifted from a pit which reached around 2 metres (6.6 ft) in depth. [8]
The mosaic was subsequently donated to the museum in November 1927 by Proprietors J. J. Walne and O.C. Vidler and was installed into the floor of the Dorset Museum by Giomeria Zanetter and Sidney Smith (the completion date of the mosaic installation was 5 December 1927). [7] [9]
The mosaic stayed in the floor of the museum it was dismantled and moved onto the Atrium wall of the museum shortly before the museum reopened in May 2021; the conservation work was undertaken by Lee Kimber, Richard Ball and Brian Bentley. [10]
The mosaic is incomplete, with parts of the lower section of the mosaic no longer existing today, [6] and its design consists of a head of Oceanus, two dolphins and red-finned fish, while six red tesserae of a figure once occupying the central octagon are also present. [3]
It has been described as being identical to pavement mosaics of a similar date found at Bignor and Cirencester [10] and it also measures 715 cm × 480 cm (23.5 ft 2 in × 15.6 ft 189 in). [3]
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Dorchester is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome to the south of the Dorset Downs and north of the South Dorset Ridgeway that separates the area from Weymouth, 7 miles (11 km) to the south. The civil parish includes the experimental community of Poundbury and the suburb of Fordington.
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Durnovaria is a suggested spelling for the Latin form of the name of the Roman town of Dorchester in the modern English county of Dorset, amended from the actually observed Durnonovaria. Upon the assumption that the name was originally Brythonic, it is suggested that the first element in the name, *durno- may mean "fist" like and the second may be related to Old Irish fáir ~ fóir denoting a confined area or den. A simpler amendment would lead to *Duronovaria, making this place one of up to 18 ancient British names that contain Duro- and mostly occur at river crossings, while -novaria has two possible ancient parallels in Britain associated with river junctions. That analysis would perfectly fit the geographical situation of Dorchester.
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A Roman mosaic is a mosaic made during the Roman period, throughout the Roman Republic and later Empire. Mosaics were used in a variety of private and public buildings, on both floors and walls, though they competed with cheaper frescos for the latter. They were highly influenced by earlier and contemporary Hellenistic Greek mosaics, and often included famous figures from history and mythology, such as Alexander the Great in the Alexander Mosaic.
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