Trojan War Mosaic Found in U.K. Farmer's Field

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November 25, 2021

A team of archaeologists in the United Kingdom have found in a farmer's field a Roman mosaic depicting a famous Trojan War scene.

Trojan War mosaic

The mosaic depicts Achilles and Hector fighting during the epic struggle that many historians say helped define the course of Mediterranean civilization. Thousands of years ago, sources say, a large army of warriors laid siege to the city of Troy. The siege ended in the sack of the city and the deaths of most of the royal family. The fight between Achilles and the Trojan prince Hector forms a significant part of the ancient struggle for supremacy described by the famous poet Homer in the epic poem the Iliad.

The remains of the mosaic, which authorities say was commissioned in the 300s, measure 36 feet by 23 feet. The mosaic formed the floor of a large dining area, one of many elements of the villa complex being excavated.

Discovering the mosaic in 2020 was Jim Irvine, the son of the landowner, Brian Naylor, who lives in the county of Rutland. Irvine contacted the Leicestershire County Council, which sent out its heritage team; a team from the University of Leicester School of Archaeology and Ancient History did followup excavations in September 2021. Among their other finds were boundary ditches and what they think was a bath house.

The mosaic is the first depicting events from the Trojan War to be found in the U.K. The Government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has declared the villa complex a Scheduled Monument, giving it maximum protected status. Archaeologists plan more excavations in 2022.

Rutland is a county in the East Midlands of England, about 100 miles north of London, nearly equidistant west to east between Leicester and Peterborough.

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