Mosaic A2 and surrounding wall remains looking down from south
- Description:
- Mosaic A2 and surrounding wall remains looking down from south
- Photographer:
- Image capture by Edwin Brock
- Date Created:
- October 10, 1998
- Collection:
- Villa of the Birds Mosaic Conservation
- Series:
- Conservation work in progress
- Subseries:
- Early Roman Villa
- Location:
- Alexandria, Egypt and Al Iskandarīyah
- Time Period:
- Early Roman Empire
- Topic:
- Domestic architecture, Art, Greco-Roman, and Floral motifs
- Genre:
- black-and-white photographs and general views
- Conservation Note:
- Located in the north-eastern corner of the villa, the motif of mosaic A2, executed in opus tessellatum technique, was one of the most popular ornaments found on Roman mosaic floors in Egypt. In this instance, the pattern was arranged with big tesserae of irregular shape and roughly cut. A coin of Hadrian’s reign was found under this floor. Project staff succeeded in uncovering the previously unexplored central fragment and north-western corner of this mosaic. Briefly, the state of the mosaic can be summarized with: tesserae loss along the borders, 15% of the original surface missing, small lacunae filled with cement in the 70s, distorted and sagged surface,and bedding mortar weakened. Some conservation measures included: mechanical/chemical cleaning of the surface; removal of cement infillings (70s intervention); reintegration of lacunae, reconstruction of edges; and stabilization of some areas.
- Copyright Status:
- copyrighted
- Creative Commons License:
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
- Local ID:
- arce_ca_vob_images_0310.tif
- Project History:
- At the heart of modern Alexandria in Kom el-Dikka lies an exceptional demonstration of Domestic architecture during the Roman Imperial period. The Early Roman villa named “Villa of the Birds” houses exceptionally well preserved mosaic floors, made of tesserae. True to its name, it contains Mosaic a-5 which depicts different bird species within seven different panels. Under the auspices of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), Dr. Wojciech Kolataj and his team conserved the mosaic floors, constructed a shelter, and landscaped the surrounding area. Some related supplemental work was carried out by the Polish-Egyptian Preservation Mission, and sponsored jointly by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (currently the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities) and the Polish Center of Archaeology. Conservation work was made possible with the support of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (formerly the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities).
- Funding Agency:
- Villa of the Birds Mosaic Conservation project was made possible with funding by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Grant No. 263-G-00-93-00089-00 (formerly 263-0000-G-00-3089-00) and administered by the Egyptian Antiquities Project (EAP) of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE).