Alison Fisk

My photo shows a Roman floor mosaic depicting an octopus. The octopus is composed of small black tesserae (tiles) and has eight writhing arms with suckers and narrow curling tips. It is set against a white tesserae background. Octopus detail from a monochrome marine mosaic featuring Triton with a cherub and various sea creatures, including the octopus, dolphins and a cuttlefish, at the women’s changing room at the Central Baths in Herculaneum.

Spectacular octopus from the floor of the women’s changing room at the Central Baths in ancient Herculaneum.

📷 by me

#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology

FLOOR MOSAIC WITH ANTELOPES, C4-C5 CE. THE BRITISH MUSEUM This is another piece of British imperial spolia, dug up by Nathan Davis in 1858 and received by the British Museum the following year. It comes from a late antique domus in Roman Carthage and was probably a threshold mosaic between two rooms. Against a white background, two horned animals drink from a cantharos fountain whose waters shoot up and divide into two cascades which overflow the cantharos and fall into a square basin below. Usually the animals in similar scenes are deer, and they represent the spirit's thirst for God. In this case they're Bohor Reedbuck antelopes, which might have been found in North Africa when this mosaic was made, though now they do not appear north of the Sahara. Plants with red flowers dot the ground, perhaps poppies. Two fancy fowl, gallinules with their characteristic arched heads, fill the space over the antelopes' backs.

#MosaicMonday at the #BritishMuseum presents us with a floor #mosaic from C4-C5 CE #Carthage, where two antelopes drink from a #fountain, a #Christian metaphor for the soul's thirst for God, while a pair of #gallinules look on. #AncientBluesky 🏺

For #MosaicMonday an Agricultural Worker mosaic from Chedworth Roman Villa courtesy of Cross Duck. #RomanBritain #RomanArchaeology #Archaeology #RomanArt #Art

Three fragments of Roman mosaic. At top left, a leopard between two trees. At top right, a hound and a boar separated by a tree, with part of a rectangular compartment below; this shows a rosette with three birds to the right. At bottom, a small fragment with a bear.

On #MosaicMonday over the last few weeks, I've been paying tribute to the wonderful animals from the Withington Orpheus mosaic as depicted in Lysons's engravings. It was a great thrill to see the originals again last week, now displayed in the excellent Corinium Museum. 1/2
#AncientBlueSky 🏺

Painting of a portrait in a roundel from a Roman mosaic possibly depicting Minerva or Mercury (or another helmet wearing deity or hero) surrounded by floral designs

Painting of a damaged Roman polychrome mosaic with floral designs

In 1903 a 4th century #Roman mosaic was uncovered at Fifehead Neville #Dorset

The central image was recorded by Mary Hartley just before souvenir hunters destroyed it 😱

The second painting © Stephen Cosh (2005) reconstructs the full floor from what was left before reburial

#MosaicMonday

#MosaicMonday

#Roman floor mosaic from the Grotte Celoni area of the via Casilina, Rome. End of 1st - 2nd century AD.
(National Roman Museum, #Rome, #Italy)
#Art #History

Detail from the 4th century ‘Charioteer Mosaic’ featuring a victorious charioteer and quadriga (4 horse chariot). The mosaic decorated one of the rooms at Rudston Roman Villa in East Yorkshire; now part of the collections at Hull and East Riding Museum. 📸 My own #MosaicMonday

A Roman mosaic depicting an owl with wide eyes, brown and red body, and blue feet, set against a cream-colored background with a black geometric border. The owl looks a bit deranged.

Just another Monday…

A Roman mosaic depicting a somewhat whimsical owl 🦉, found in Uzès, southern France, dating second half of the 1st century BC.

📷 Denis Gliksman, Inrap

🏺 #MosaicMonday

My photo shows the monochrome mosaic floor of the women’s changing room at the Central Baths in Herculaneum. Black tessarae (mosaic tiles) are used to depict the sea god Triton, who is holding a club over his left shoulder and a small fish in his right hand. He is surrounded by a cherub, dolphins, octopus, and a squid. Set against a white tile background.

Here’s a fuller view of the mosaic floor in the women’s changing room (apodyterium) at the Central Baths in Herculaneum. The monochrome floor mosaic depicts a marine scene featuring the spectacular octopus together with the sea god Triton, a cherub, dolphins, and a squid.

Thank you! 🥰

My photo shows a Roman floor mosaic depicting an octopus. The octopus is composed of small black tesserae (tiles) and has eight writhing arms with suckers and narrow curling tips. It is set against a white tesserae background. Octopus detail from a monochrome marine mosaic featuring Triton with a cherub and various sea creatures, including the octopus, dolphins and a cuttlefish, at the women’s changing room at the Central Baths in Herculaneum.

Spectacular octopus from the floor of the women’s changing room at the Central Baths in ancient Herculaneum.

📷 by me

#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology

One of my favorite ever portraits.

My photo shows a famous wall painting from Pompeii known as the Sappho fresco. It shows the head and upper body of a young woman framed inside a painted circular border. She faces forward. Her eyes are large and dark, gazing to one side with a calm and thoughtful expression, as if pausing mid-thought. Her skin is pale, and her hair is dark brown and tightly curled, forming small ringlets around her face. A thin golden hairnet holds her curls in place. She wears small gold hoop earrings, and a brown cloak over a green garment. In her right hand she holds a thin dark metal stylus (writing tool) up against her lips, as if thinking about what to write. In her left hand she holds a small rectangular wooden wax writing tablet. The fresco is now on display at the Muso Archeologico Nazionale in Naples

The ‘Sappho’ fresco from Pompeii.

A beautiful Roman portrait of a young woman for #InternationalWomensDay

She holds a writing tablet, and raises a writing stylus to her lips in thoughtful contemplation. 55-70 AD.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples 📷 by me

#Archaeology

Women’s writing in the ancient world Although most of the literature that we have from the ancient Mediterranean and Near East was written by men, we do also have compositions by women – most famously the Greek poet Sappho, as w…

‘Women’s writing in the ancient world’, a blog by Anna P. Judson:

itsallgreektoanna.wordpress.com/2020/03/06/w...

My photo shows a famous wall painting from Pompeii known as the Sappho fresco. It shows the head and upper body of a young woman framed inside a painted circular border. She faces forward. Her eyes are large and dark, gazing to one side with a calm and thoughtful expression, as if pausing mid-thought. Her skin is pale, and her hair is dark brown and tightly curled, forming small ringlets around her face. A thin golden hairnet holds her curls in place. She wears small gold hoop earrings, and a brown cloak over a green garment. In her right hand she holds a thin dark metal stylus (writing tool) up against her lips, as if thinking about what to write. In her left hand she holds a small rectangular wooden wax writing tablet. The fresco is now on display at the Muso Archeologico Nazionale in Naples

The ‘Sappho’ fresco from Pompeii.

A beautiful Roman portrait of a young woman for #InternationalWomensDay

She holds a writing tablet, and raises a writing stylus to her lips in thoughtful contemplation. 55-70 AD.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples 📷 by me

#Archaeology

A lovely oil lamp from Roman Cirencester (Corinium) with its lion motif. Now part of the collections at Corinium Museum in Cirencester. 📸 My own. #RomanBritain #Cirencester

STAIRCASE OF THE ARACOELI, 1347-1349. The short-lived rule of the "Tribune" Cola di Rienzo was popular insofar as it was practical. During the period of the papacy's long residence at Avignon, Cola's revolutionary and anti-aristocratic city government passed a new set of city ordinances which sent the barons out of the city and subjected them to severe legal punishments if they committed violence. The barons pushed back, but were devastated in a battle at Porta S. Lorenzo in November 1347. The powerful Colonna family, whose fortress was built into the ruins of a vast Severan terrace containing a stepped ramp leading from the Campus Martius up to the summit of the Quirinal, lost its leaders and withdrew to their fiefdom of Palestrina. Cola, planning for the Jubilee of 1350, had the marble steps stripped out of the Colonna stronghold, but by December 1347 he had fallen from power and fled. The Comune carried on with the project, assigning it an architect in 1348. It was completed in 1349, and paid for by a Colonna, but it was Cola's project and also served as a thank you to the Virgin for ending the Black Death in the city. It was the most important public work of Trecento Rome, and remains today a silent but eloquent tribute to what the people can achieve even against their overlords.

#SpoliaSunday takes us to the long #staircase of the #Aracoeli, which were once the steps of a huge covered ramp leading to the #Severan temple of #Serapis on the #Quirinal in #Rome. They are also the product of a successful war by the Comune on the #Colonna barons. #AncientBluesky 🏺

Very cool! A Roman dice tower.

I wholeheartedly agree!

Pompeii is definitely worth visiting. It is very impressive.

My photo shows a view looking straight down an ancient street in Pompeii. The road is made of large, unevenly-shaped, rounded gray stone blocks. Running lengthwise through the stones are two shallow grooves—parallel tracks worn into the stone by the passage of wagon wheels centuries ago. On both sides of the street are pedestrian pavements, raised about a step higher than the road. Beyond the pavements are the remains of buildings with thick walls made of rough stone and reddish bricks. The roofs and upper floors are gone. The street stretches straight into the distance, narrowing with perspective. A few small human figures and trees in the distance, emphasize how long the road is. Above the street, the blue sky is streaked with thin, wispy clouds. At the far end of the street, rising behind the ruins, there’s a glimpse of the dark, lower slope of Mount Vesuvius, the volcano whose eruption buried Pompeii in AD 79.

Wheel ruts worn into the roads of ancient Pompeii made by the passage of wagons and carts some 2,000+ years ago.

A reminder to modern visitors of ancient traffic which flowed through busy Pompeian streets.

📷 by me

#Archaeology

Thank you! 😊

Driving the streets of Pompeii - World Archaeology How did Romans drive around an ancient city? Was it just a free-for-all? Subtle traces worn into the streets of Pompeii by passing carts suggest not. What do they tell us about the city's complex traf...

A survey by Eric Poehler of wear patterns made by wheels in road, kerb, and crossing stones of ancient #Pompeii, reveals information about the size of ancient vehicles and also direction of travel in Pompeian streets. Read more:

www.world-archaeology.com/features/cro...

My photo shows a view looking straight down an ancient street in Pompeii. The road is made of large, unevenly-shaped, rounded gray stone blocks. Running lengthwise through the stones are two shallow grooves—parallel tracks worn into the stone by the passage of wagon wheels centuries ago. On both sides of the street are pedestrian pavements, raised about a step higher than the road. Beyond the pavements are the remains of buildings with thick walls made of rough stone and reddish bricks. The roofs and upper floors are gone. The street stretches straight into the distance, narrowing with perspective. A few small human figures and trees in the distance, emphasize how long the road is. Above the street, the blue sky is streaked with thin, wispy clouds. At the far end of the street, rising behind the ruins, there’s a glimpse of the dark, lower slope of Mount Vesuvius, the volcano whose eruption buried Pompeii in AD 79.

Wheel ruts worn into the roads of ancient Pompeii made by the passage of wagons and carts some 2,000+ years ago.

A reminder to modern visitors of ancient traffic which flowed through busy Pompeian streets.

📷 by me

#Archaeology

My photo shows a museum display with colourful Minoan pottery cups arranged on three clear shelves, one above the other. These cups, known as Kamares Ware, are from Phaistos, Crete. They were made in palace workshops, c. 1800-1700 BC. The cups range in shape and size from conic and cylindrical cups (top and middle shelves) to hemispherical and carinated shaped cups (bottom shelf). They are decorated with multi-coloured geometric motifs; with spirals and swirls painted in red and white pigment on black.

Sipping my coffee ☕️ and thinking about these marvellous Minoan cups!

They look so modern it’s incredible to think they were made during the Bronze Age some 3,800 years ago!

Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Crete. 📷 by me

#Archaeology

Elements from Egyptian and Greek mythology are combined in this delicate figure. The view taken here is that Anubis is represented, wearing military costume and breastplate that signify his role as a fighter against the enemies of Osiris. He holds a staff topped by a cone-shaped object - the thyrsus carried by followers of Dionysus with whom the Greeks equated Osiris. In his other hand he carries a falcon. On the other hand, the snout and ears appear short for Anubis and more like those of a cat, and the short dress can be worn by Artemis who is associated with Bastet. The identity of the figure is, therefore, not certain. Roman, from Egypt, 2nd-3rd century CE. Height: 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm) Met Museum, New York (67.190)

This l’il fella is a gold amulet from Roman Egypt, possibly representing the Egyptian god Anubis as a defender of Osiris-Dionysus. He wears a military tunic and breastplate, signifying him as a defender of Osiris; he also holds a thyrsus of Dionysus, equated with Osiris. 🏺 1/

📸 me #MetMuseum

The photo shows an intricately designed glass figurine in the shape of a stylized fish. The fish is made of transparent, slightly yellow-tinted glass and features numerous decorative details. Its body is adorned with curved elements, including a blue wavy line above a black, round eye. The fins and tail are elaborately shaped, with the tail appearing broad. In the background, another glass figurine resembling an animal is visible. The image has taken in a exhibition setting.

Fascinating world of ancient #glass: This #Roman flask in the form of a fish was found in Cologne, 3rd c. AD. 🐠🐟
We don't know what is was used for, maybe the shape relates to the content (fish sauce), maybe it was used to hold oil.

📷 🏺

This Roman bracelet with punched ring-and-dot decoration is complete making it a remarkable survival. The majority of Roman bracelets recorded with the PAS are fragmentary. #FindsFriday finds.org.uk/database/art...

Castle Douglas horned pony cap crosses Atlantic for exhibition The horned cap from southern Scotland would have made the pony wearing it look

Pony Goes to Hollywood (well, Harvard anyway)

The Torrs Celtic pony *mythical beast cap* heads west

#IronAge #Archaeology

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A round stone plaque engraved with a sun motif.

How did prehistoric people respond to natural disasters? Some of 2025's most-read research suggested a volcanic eruption that blocked out the sun caused people in Neolithic Denmark to ritually sacrifice 'sun stones' to ensure a good harvest.

Read it 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology