Christianity ‘turned to archaeology to promote bible’ says expert

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Digging For Britain will air on BBC Two tonight as Alice Roberts seeks out the most outstanding archaeological digs of the year, beginning in the east of England. She witnesses the uncovering of a Roman mosaic found on farmland in Rutland, and visits the site of a saintly hermit’s hovel discovered in the Lincolnshire fens. The Roman mosaic was discovered in November, and was branded the most important discovery of its kind seen in the UK. It was resting amongst a Roman villa complex found in a farmer’s field.

It has since been investigated by archaeologists from the University of Leicester in partnership with Historic England and Rutland county council.

Their investigation revealed the mosaic lies within an elaborate villa complex encompassing a host of other structures and buildings.

It is likely to have been occupied by a wealthy individual from the late Roman period, some time between the 3rd and 4th century AD.

The mosaic found in Rutland is one of only a handful in Europe.

It depicts Homer’s The Iliad, an ancient Greek epic poem set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Mycenaean Greek states.

It tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles.

Mosaics were used in a variety of private and public buildings across the Roman empire, and often featured famous figures from history and mythology, but there are only a handful of depictions of Achilles’ battle with Hector at the conclusion of the Trojan war.

Jim Irvine, who discovered the mosaic, told The Guardian: “A ramble through the fields with the family turned into an incredible discovery.

“Finding some unusual pottery among the wheat piqued my interest and prompted some further investigative work.

“Later, looking at the satellite imagery I spotted a very clear crop mark, as if someone had drawn on my computer screen with a piece of chalk. This really was the ‘oh wow’ moment, and the beginning of the story.”

Measured at 11 metres by almost seven metres, the mosaic formed the floor of what is thought to be a large dining or entertaining area.

The villa is surrounded by what appears to be aisled barns, circular structures and a possible bath house.

Human remains were also found in the rubble covering the mosaic, which were likely interned after the building was no longer occupied.

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John Thomas, deputy director of University of Leicester Archaeological Services and project manager on the excavations, branded it “the most exciting Roman mosaic discovery in the UK in the last century”.

He added: “It gives us fresh perspectives on the attitudes of people at the time, their links to classical literature.

“This [the villa’s owner] is someone with a knowledge of the classics, who had the money to commission a piece of such detail, and it’s the very first depiction of these stories that we’ve ever found in Britain.”

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, also commented on the discovery, saying it was “so important in helping us piece together our shared history”.

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