Friday 1 January 2016

Bignor Roman villa



Bignor is a village in West Sussex (England) about nine miles northeast of the city of Chichester.

A remarkable discovery was made here during the early 19th century when a farmer discovered a section of Roman mosaic flooring in one of his fields. He could see that it was a picture of a girl who was dancing.

Excavations began in 1811 and eventually revealed the foundations of an extensive Roman villa (country house) that would have been occupied between the 2nd and 4th centuries.

Bignor Villa must have been owned by someone who was particularly wealthy, because no expense had been spared on the floor mosaics that were revealed. These are among the finest to have been found anywhere in Britain, and include the example pictured here. This is the longest piece of Roman mosaic on public display anywhere in in the country, being 25 metres (82 feet) in length.


© John Welford

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