Bellerophon astride Pegasus—spectacular Roman mosaic unearthed in England
Berkshire in southeast England is a county rich in history. The eastern end of the county contains Windsor Castle. The original castle was constructed in the 11th century following the Norman invasion. In the western end of the county is the village of Boxford, in which settlement dates to the Bronze Age and continued through the Roman occupation of England.
In 2015, a community group that formed the project “Revealing Boxford’s Ancient Heritage” in partnership with Cotsworld Archaeology and Berkshire Archaeology Research Group won a substantial grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Heritage Lottery Fund bills itself as the largest funder of heritage projects in the United Kingdom. Since 1994, the organization has awarded over £7.7billion awarded to over 42,000 projects.
The Boxford excavations funded by this grant recently revealed a spectacular Roman-period mosaic that covered the floor of a Roman villa. The mosaic depicts the Greek hero Bellerophon astride Pegasus, the winged hours (the photo above of the Greek myth is in the public domain).
Read
'Most exciting Roman mosaic for 50-years' is discovered during community dig in Berkshire
By Martin Evans
The Telegraph
September 3, 2017
Stunning mosaic found in Roman Villa near Boxford
By Cotsworld Archaeology
Accessed September 7, 2017
Revealing Boxford’s Ancient Heritage wins Heritage Lottery Fund support
By Boxford.org
August 17, 2015