Zliten mosaic
Encyclopedia
The Zliten mosaic is a Roman
floor mosaic from about the 2nd century AD, found in the town of Zliten
in Libya
, on the east coast of Leptis Magna
. The mosaic was discovered by the Italian archaeologist Salvatore Aurigemma in 1913 and is now on display at The Archaeological Museum of Tripoli. It depicts gladiatorial contests, animal hunts, and scenes from everyday life.
later called Villa Dar Buk Ammera after the area where it was found. When it was first fully unearthed and visible after the excavations conducted by Salvatore Aurigemma, from 22 June
to 18 August
1914, it was immediately seen as a masterpiece of mosaic art, but one that was in an emergent need for preservation and restoration. In the 1920s, the mosaic was restored and placed on display at The Archaeological Museum of Tripoli. It moved with the museum to its new location in 1952 and is displayed prominently near the entrance hall.
In his work on the Zliten mosaics, Mosaici di Zliten, 1926, Aurigemma offers an approximate dating period for the mosaic in the Flavian Dynasty
years (69-96 AD). This chronology would make the mosaic one of the earliest known mosaics of North Africa
. He asserts his hypothesis on three arguments:
In 1965, Georges Ville studied the mosaic based on the historical evidence provided by the costumes and weaponry of the protagonists in sections of the mosaic depicting venatio
(hunting) and munus (swordsmanship). Ville found that the short-sleeved tunic
and the hunters with bare, unprotected legs seem to belong to the late 1st or early 2nd century AD, whereas the type of thraex
and murmillo
’s helmets seem to be intermediary between that of Pompeii
and that of the gladiator of Trajan
period. Thus, Ville dates the mosaic from the end of the Flavian period
to the early Antonine period (late 1st or early 2nd century).
Another stylistic comparative analysis by Roman art historian Christine Kondoleon supports an Antonine period dating as a result of the mosaic's multiple design elements. The Zliten floor mosaic employs tressed or braided twisted rope outlines to frame each panel, black backgrounds provide optical contrast and the panels alternate circular and square patterns. These features are in common with the Reggio Emilia
mosaic, placed in the Antonine period. Kondoleon also asserts links between the individual designs of these mosaics, especially in the simplified floral forms and scale patterns. Finally, Kondoleon cites the inclusion of the peltarion
, a type of Roman shield
, as a further link in other Italian mosaics of the period.
In 1985, David Parrish, an art history
professor, proposed 200 AD as the date of the mosaic, a date that coincides with the early Severan dynasty
. In a comparison of the military equipment of the two Samnites in the Zliten mosaic with the warriors in the mosaic of Bad Kreuznach
(Germany), dated c. 250 AD, Parrish emphasizes their similarities. He performed a similar comparison between the duel
s of retiarius
and secutor
in the Zliten mosaic and those of the mosaic of Nennig
in Germany, dated c. 240-250 AD. Additionally, Parrish concludes that the mosaic of the El Djem
amphitheatre
, dated c. 200 AD, has particularly evident links to the Zliten mosaic in terms of the realistic rendering of space on white background, and the absence of shadows and isolated plots of land. This methodology is criticized by some scholars, including Roman art historian Katherine Dunbabin, for relying on overly broad stylistic parallels between the works.
Portions of the Zliten mosaic are realized through a combination of three techniques: opus tessellatum
, opus vermiculatum
and opus sectile
.
The external black and white geometric border is created with the opus tessellatum
technique.
The central part of the mosaic is composed of geometric alternating square panels with each side measuring 0.45 m (1.5 ft) and realized in the opus sectile
technique. Within these panels are circular emblem
ata depicting fish and other marine
creatures (shrimp
, murex
, picarel, conger
, sea urchin
, garfish
etc...) in the opus vermiculatum
technique.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
floor mosaic from about the 2nd century AD, found in the town of Zliten
Zliten
Zliten is a town in the Misrata District of Libya. It is located on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea west of the Gulf of Sidra. It was the capital of the former Zlitan District.-Location:...
in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, on the east coast of Leptis Magna
Leptis Magna
Leptis Magna also known as Lectis Magna , also called Lpqy, Neapolis, Lebida or Lebda to modern-day residents of Libya, was a prominent city of the Roman Empire. Its ruins are located in Khoms, Libya, east of Tripoli, on the coast where the Wadi Lebda meets the sea...
. The mosaic was discovered by the Italian archaeologist Salvatore Aurigemma in 1913 and is now on display at The Archaeological Museum of Tripoli. It depicts gladiatorial contests, animal hunts, and scenes from everyday life.
History
The mosaic was discovered in October 1913, in the ruins of a seaside Roman villaRoman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
later called Villa Dar Buk Ammera after the area where it was found. When it was first fully unearthed and visible after the excavations conducted by Salvatore Aurigemma, from 22 June
June
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of the four months with a length of 30 days. Ovid provides two etymologies for June's name in his poem concerning the months entitled the Fasti...
to 18 August
August
August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days.This month was originally named Sextilis in Latin, because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, when March was the first...
1914, it was immediately seen as a masterpiece of mosaic art, but one that was in an emergent need for preservation and restoration. In the 1920s, the mosaic was restored and placed on display at The Archaeological Museum of Tripoli. It moved with the museum to its new location in 1952 and is displayed prominently near the entrance hall.
Dating dispute
There have been various disputes related to the dating of the mosaic, mostly based on archaeological or stylistic comparisons, but the issue remains unresolved.In his work on the Zliten mosaics, Mosaici di Zliten, 1926, Aurigemma offers an approximate dating period for the mosaic in the Flavian Dynasty
Flavian dynasty
The Flavian dynasty was a Roman Imperial Dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 and 96 AD, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian , and his two sons Titus and Domitian . The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
years (69-96 AD). This chronology would make the mosaic one of the earliest known mosaics of North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. He asserts his hypothesis on three arguments:
- The quality of the workmanship of a mosaic in the same villa, situated in an adjoining room, suggests dating as close as possible to the Augustan period (early 1st century AD).
- The hairstyleHairstyleA hairstyle, hairdo, or haircut refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.-History of...
of the woman figure shown playing the hydraulic organ is typical of the FlavianFlavian dynastyThe Flavian dynasty was a Roman Imperial Dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 and 96 AD, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian , and his two sons Titus and Domitian . The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
period. - The mosaic's depiction of the capital punishment of Damnatio ad bestiasDamnatio ad bestiasDamnatio ad bestias was a form of capital punishment in which the condemned were maimed on the circus arena or thrown to a cage with animals, usually lions. It was brought to ancient Rome around the 2nd century BC from Asia, where a similar penalty existed from at least the 6th century BC...
appears similar to records of the defeat of GaramantesGaramantesThe Garamantes were a Saharan people who used an elaborate underground irrigation system, and founded a prosperous Berber kingdom in the Fezzan area of modern-day Libya, in the Sahara desert. They were a local power in the Sahara between 500 BC and 700 AD.There is little textual information about...
recounted by TacitusTacitusPublius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
and dated at 70 AD.
In 1965, Georges Ville studied the mosaic based on the historical evidence provided by the costumes and weaponry of the protagonists in sections of the mosaic depicting venatio
Venatio
Venatio was a form of entertainment in Roman amphitheaters involving the hunting and slaying of wild animals. Exotic wild beasts from the far reaches of the Roman Empire were brought to Rome and hunts were held in the morning prior to the afternoon main event of gladiatorial duels...
(hunting) and munus (swordsmanship). Ville found that the short-sleeved tunic
Tunic
A tunic is any of several types of clothing for the body, of various lengths reaching from the shoulders to somewhere between the hips and the ankles...
and the hunters with bare, unprotected legs seem to belong to the late 1st or early 2nd century AD, whereas the type of thraex
Thraex
The Thraex , or Thracian, was a type of Roman gladiator, armed in the Thracian style with small rectangular shield called a parmula and a very short sword with a slightly curved blade called a sica , intended to maim an opponent's unarmoured back...
and murmillo
Murmillo
The murmillo was a type of gladiator during the Roman Imperial age. The murmillo-class gladiator was adopted in the early Imperial period to replace the earlier Gallus, named after the warriors of Gaul...
’s helmets seem to be intermediary between that of Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
and that of the gladiator of Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
period. Thus, Ville dates the mosaic from the end of the Flavian period
Flavian dynasty
The Flavian dynasty was a Roman Imperial Dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 and 96 AD, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian , and his two sons Titus and Domitian . The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
to the early Antonine period (late 1st or early 2nd century).
Another stylistic comparative analysis by Roman art historian Christine Kondoleon supports an Antonine period dating as a result of the mosaic's multiple design elements. The Zliten floor mosaic employs tressed or braided twisted rope outlines to frame each panel, black backgrounds provide optical contrast and the panels alternate circular and square patterns. These features are in common with the Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
mosaic, placed in the Antonine period. Kondoleon also asserts links between the individual designs of these mosaics, especially in the simplified floral forms and scale patterns. Finally, Kondoleon cites the inclusion of the peltarion
Peltarion (Shield)
A peltarion, pelta or pelte was a crescent-shaped wicker shield commonly used in the ancient world before the 3rd century BCE and gradually replaced in some cases with the thureos. Xenophon describes the shield as "round" but such round shields are rare in contemporary art. It could either be...
, a type of Roman shield
Shield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
, as a further link in other Italian mosaics of the period.
In 1985, David Parrish, an art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
professor, proposed 200 AD as the date of the mosaic, a date that coincides with the early Severan dynasty
Severan dynasty
The Severan dynasty was a Roman imperial dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. The dynasty was founded by the Roman general Septimius Severus, who rose to power during the civil war of 193, known as the Year of the Five Emperors....
. In a comparison of the military equipment of the two Samnites in the Zliten mosaic with the warriors in the mosaic of Bad Kreuznach
Bad Kreuznach
Bad Kreuznach is the capital of the district of Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located on the Nahe river, a tributary of the Rhine...
(Germany), dated c. 250 AD, Parrish emphasizes their similarities. He performed a similar comparison between the duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
s of retiarius
Retiarius
A retiarius was a Roman gladiator who fought with equipment styled on that of a fisherman: a weighted net , a three-pointed trident , and a dagger...
and secutor
Secutor
A Secutor was a class of gladiator in ancient Rome.Thought to have originated around 50 AD, the Secutor was armed similarly to the Murmillo gladiator, and like the Murmillo, was protected by heavy armour. A Secutor usually carried a short sword, a gladius, or a dagger...
in the Zliten mosaic and those of the mosaic of Nennig
Nennig
Nennig is a village in the Saarland, Germany, part of the municipality of Perl. It is situated on the river Moselle, opposite Remich, Luxembourg. Nennig is known for a Roman villa containing well-preserved mosaics that were excavated in the 19th century...
in Germany, dated c. 240-250 AD. Additionally, Parrish concludes that the mosaic of the El Djem
El Djem
Drifting sand is preserving the market city of Thysdrus and the refined suburban villas that once surrounded it. The amphiteatre occupies archaeologists' attention: no digging required...
amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
, dated c. 200 AD, has particularly evident links to the Zliten mosaic in terms of the realistic rendering of space on white background, and the absence of shadows and isolated plots of land. This methodology is criticized by some scholars, including Roman art historian Katherine Dunbabin, for relying on overly broad stylistic parallels between the works.
Composition
Opus tessellatum
Opus tessellatum refers to a type of mosaic made from tesserae. Opus tessellatum is usually used for background consisting of horizontally or vertically arranged lines ....
, opus vermiculatum
Opus vermiculatum
Opus vermiculatum is a type of mosaic which draws an outline around shapes using tesserae. This can be one or more rows and then contrasted in the background, typically with Opus tessellatum. The outline created is often light and offset by a dark background for greater contrast...
and opus sectile
Opus sectile
Opus sectile refers to an art technique popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The materials were cut in thin pieces, polished, then trimmed...
.
The external black and white geometric border is created with the opus tessellatum
Opus tessellatum
Opus tessellatum refers to a type of mosaic made from tesserae. Opus tessellatum is usually used for background consisting of horizontally or vertically arranged lines ....
technique.
The central part of the mosaic is composed of geometric alternating square panels with each side measuring 0.45 m (1.5 ft) and realized in the opus sectile
Opus sectile
Opus sectile refers to an art technique popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The materials were cut in thin pieces, polished, then trimmed...
technique. Within these panels are circular emblem
Emblem
An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:...
ata depicting fish and other marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
creatures (shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
, murex
Murex
Murex is a genus of medium to large sized predatory tropical sea snails. These are carnivorous marine gastropod molluscs in the family Muricidae, commonly calle "murexes" or "rock snails"...
, picarel, conger
Conger
Conger is a genus of marine congrid eels. It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to 3 m in length, in the case of the European conger...
, sea urchin
Sea urchin
Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...
, garfish
Garfish
The garfish , or sea needle, is a pelagic, oceanodromous needlefish found in brackish and marine waters of the Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic Sea, etc. The fish lives close to the surface and has a migratory pattern similar to that of the mackerel, arriving a short time before...
etc...) in the opus vermiculatum
Opus vermiculatum
Opus vermiculatum is a type of mosaic which draws an outline around shapes using tesserae. This can be one or more rows and then contrasted in the background, typically with Opus tessellatum. The outline created is often light and offset by a dark background for greater contrast...
technique.
See also
- Antioch mosaicsAntioch mosaicsThe Antioch mosaics are a grouping of over 300 mosaic floors created around the 3rd century AD, and discovered during archaeological excavations of Antioch between 1932 and 1939 by a consortium of five museums and institutions...
- Mosaics
- ZlitenZlitenZliten is a town in the Misrata District of Libya. It is located on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea west of the Gulf of Sidra. It was the capital of the former Zlitan District.-Location:...
- Lepcis Magna