A BREAK in digging at Brading Roman Villa means conservation work can be undertaken on the mosaic floor.
Visitors during August will be able to watch the delicate cleaning process. This is a rare chance for people to see Brading’s mosaics as the Romans would have seen them — during the cleaning process the bright colours of the tesserae are revealed.
The mosaic floors at Brading are unique in their design and it has been five years since their last cleaning.
The summers of 2008, 2009 and 2010 saw extensive archaeological investigation at the site, led by Prof Sir Barry Cunliffe, which led to the discovery of an aisled hall, bath house, burial ground with cremated remains and an Iron-age settlement.
The history of the site can now be written, so Sir Barry is taking a break from digging to concentrate on writing-up his findings.
He said: "The revelations of life at Brading on this initial area of farmstead settlement, before and after the Romans came, have been richly rewarding — as have the amazing haul of artefacts unearthed over the three years."
Parents and children will be able to take part in daily craft activities and games, including mosaic making, shield painting, face painting, chess, croquet and hopscotch, from Monday.
Author: Martin Neville | Source: Isle of Wight Country Press [July 30, 2011]
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| A mosaic at Brading Roman Villa [Country Press] |
The mosaic floors at Brading are unique in their design and it has been five years since their last cleaning.
The summers of 2008, 2009 and 2010 saw extensive archaeological investigation at the site, led by Prof Sir Barry Cunliffe, which led to the discovery of an aisled hall, bath house, burial ground with cremated remains and an Iron-age settlement.
The history of the site can now be written, so Sir Barry is taking a break from digging to concentrate on writing-up his findings.
He said: "The revelations of life at Brading on this initial area of farmstead settlement, before and after the Romans came, have been richly rewarding — as have the amazing haul of artefacts unearthed over the three years."
Parents and children will be able to take part in daily craft activities and games, including mosaic making, shield painting, face painting, chess, croquet and hopscotch, from Monday.
Author: Martin Neville | Source: Isle of Wight Country Press [July 30, 2011]