Paper

Artifacts, artwork, and anything considered an ancient piece of history has its purpose. For generations, humankind has dug deep into civilizations history to find what others have left behind. Nearly two thousand years ago, the Roman people constructed major cities entirely out of stone, and created some of the most historically iconic pieces of artwork.

Today, the “Fishbourne Roman Palace” owns the biggest collection of “in-situ” mosaics in Britain. Having some of the oldest known Roman artifacts, this location was explored and excavated throughout the 1960’s. One of the greatest finds at the “Fishbourne Roman Palace” occurred on the last day of the first seasonal dig. At this point, excavators opened a trench and revealed one of the finest mosaics at this palace site, known to the world as “Cupid on a dolphin.” Unfortunately, they had to wait until the following summer to discover the full depiction of the mosaic, so the trench was re-filled to preserve the history. Typically, these “kinds of finds” are extremely rare, and the physical state of this mosaic was in impeccable condition when we consider how high up the piece was in the ground. This particular piece was dated around 75 – 80 A.D. right around the time this palace was constructed. Archeologist compared similar fragments of tile to properly identify the relative date of production. It is said that this particular palace was constructed to be a reward for the “client king” Togidubnus in response for his loyalty to Rome during the Boudiccan revolt.

Fishbourne Palace is considered to be an unknown treasure with several beautiful mosaics that demonstrate the sheer luxury of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire lifestyle. The big draw is the mosaics. The most...

... middle of paper ...

...ear 126 B.C. and has been identified one of the great spiritual buildings characterized by monolithic columns, hemispherical domes, and bronze doors. All of these immaculate architectural designs were a dedication to every god the Roman civilization identified with. We can see this kind of religious-inspired trend with many architectural designs throughout the Ancient Roman History as it has some influence in Western Architecture. (ONEONTA – WEB Source) With the religiously inspired creations of clay-works, and the dedication of astonishing buildings to the Greek gods, Ancient Romans told their stories with works of art. Whether it was a high marble statue, a dedicated coliseum to the gods, or a tiled-mosaic depiction of “Cupid Riding a Dolphin,” the creative nature of the Roman civilization used their religious belief system to tell the history of their culture.