Location in the architectural complex:
Aisles
Mosaic floor
Illustrative material:
Materials, palette:
Black, red, yellow, pink, green, brown, blue, orange.
Various materials were used: local limestone, teracotta for yellow, translucent and opaque glass for the green and blue.
Density:
On average 147 per dm and finer tesserae of 6.0 x 5.0 cm of about 201 per sq dm for faces and figure details.
Composition:
On top of the scaled floor (J3) stretches a border frame from the outer north aisle to the southern aisle (60 cm wide, 57 cm long). Eighty seven acanthus scrolls flanked by birds contain a wide variety of human figures, mammals, birds, fruit and decorative motifs. The humans and animals are featured separately or interacting with each other in rural or hunting scenes.
For example, a boy attempting to cage a bird or a sleeping dog.The human figures featured are classical in style, both in their nudity and poses, perhaps inspired by a Roman pattern book. Such as the classical theme of a boy extracting a thorn from his foot is depicted. Nevertheless, the figures are not completely classical and achieve some modesty with the help of acanthus leaves and loincloth.
There is a great attention to detail in depicting the movements and activities of humans and animals alike, treatment of light and shade and attention to anatomy result in a lively depiction, full of movement and dimension.
Geometric patterns:
Avi-Yonah A2
Avi-Yonah J3
Comments:
The western section of the border is missing.
Discussion:
The popularity of inhabited scroll motif is explained by Biebel (1938: 302) ‘by its variable form capable of indefinite extension in a vertical or horizon-tal direction according to the space to be filled, and at the same time the definite rhythm and compactness which it achieves by the repetition of the circular medallions'. The overall motif of the inhabited scrolls on mosaic pavements was treated as a unit, with the accent on the point of departure of the scrolls—again, by a vase or acanthus leaf flanked by birds or animals or by vases or acanthus leaves stemming from four points.
Dauphin (1987: 191) summed up thus: ‘the pavement has become a “carpet” dominated by a repetitive, geometricized pattern, thus a “carpet design”’.
Merrony (1998: 465) argues that ‘in Roman villae, the vine was associated with vintaging and Dionysiac scenes, whilst on Early Byzantine Christian pavements, the vine was essentially used as a compositional device’.
Hachlili, R. (2009). Ancient Mosaic Pavements : Themes, Issues, and Trends: Selected Studies. Leiden: Brill.