It was the fourth largest Roman settlement in Britain, with a population of over 15,000 at its peak some 2,000 years ago.
Remarkably, the Roman town of Wroxeter in Shropshire is still being excavated and its ancient location continues to reveal its secrets.
Archaeologists have discovered a remarkable floor mosaic depicting an underwater scene in an ancient townhouse in the city, called Viroconium Cornoviorum.
Described as “an aquarium frozen in stone,” the mosaic depicts dolphins and fish using intricately arranged white, red, blue and yellow tiles.
The newly discovered artwork was likely commissioned by “a rich and important person” who lived in the building.
A rare 2,000-year-old mosaic depicting brightly coloured dolphins and fish has been discovered in a Roman town in Shropshire. The dolphins are the largest, with red tails and grey bodies.
The depictions of dolphins and fish were ingeniously made by the Romans using intricately arranged white, red, blue and yellow tiles.
The ancient Roman city, Viroconium Cornoviorum, once spanned around 180 acres, but is today just a series of ruins located just north of the present-day village of Wroxeter.
Further excavations were carried out in July by English Heritage, the University of Birmingham, Vianova Archaeology & Heritage Services and Albion Archaeology.
Win Scutt, senior curator of properties at English Heritage, called the discovery of the mosaic an “amazing moment”.
“We never suspected that we would find a beautiful, intact mosaic that had remained hidden for thousands of years,” he said.
‘It’s always an amazing moment when you discover a piece of beauty hidden just beneath the ground.
‘This discovery, together with a large number of small finds such as coins and pottery, will greatly help us to date the different phases of the city and indicate the type of activities that were carried out.’
Dr Roger White, an archaeologist at the University of Birmingham, described the mosaic’s survival for 2,000 years as “extraordinary”.
The ancient Roman city, Viroconium Cornoviorum, once spanned around 180 acres, but is today just a series of ruins located just north of the modern village of Wroxeter.
Dr Roger White, an archaeologist at the University of Birmingham, described the mosaic’s survival for 2,000 years as “extraordinary”.
Pictured here, archaeologists are cleaning the astonishing mosaic, which was reportedly commissioned by “a rich and important person” at the Roman settlement.
“The new knowledge is striking evidence of the wealth and confidence of the city’s founders,” Dr White said.
‘This is impressively underlined by the extraordinary survival of a multicoloured mosaic and important frescoed walls that were built in the first decades of the city’s existence.
‘It is extremely rare to find both a mosaic and the associated wall plaster, and nothing like it has ever been found at Wroxeter before.’
Viroconium Cornoviorum was founded around 90 AD and was a prosperous city of the Roman Empire in Britain, once as large as Pompeii in Italy.
Researchers believe the mosaic dates back to the early 2nd century AD, quite soon after the city was founded – a matter of decades.
It was part of the floor of a large terraced house that was previously unknown, probably owned by a rich and powerful family.
The lower parts of the mosaic room wall are intact and still retain the original painted plaster, English Heritage says.
No future plans have been decided for the mosaic, and it has been reburied for its “protection and preservation”, English Heritage says.
Wroxeter – or Viroconium Cornoviorum as it was known – was founded in the 90s AD and was a prosperous city of the Roman Empire in Britain, once as large as Pompeii (artist’s impression)
Experts believe that the mosaic survived because the building of the house was remodeled later, probably in the late 3rd or 4th century.
At that time, the room was filled with construction debris to elevate the interior of the house, possibly to match the higher elevation of the adjacent streets.
Viroconium Cornoviorum was inhabited until the mid-5th century, shortly after the Roman withdrawal from Britain (around AD 410).
“While much of Wroxeter gradually deteriorated and reverted to the farmland it had once been, people did not abandon the town entirely,” Dr White said.
‘A small community remained near the ford, where the modern village is located, grouped in time around the Church of St. Andrew.’
No future plans have been decided for the mosaic, and it has been reburied for its “protection and preservation,” according to English Heritage.
The artwork dates back to the early 2nd century AD, quite soon after the city was founded (around 90 AD).
Today, a small number of ruined buildings (including the country’s largest free-standing piece of Roman wall and the city’s public baths) are all that remain of the lost city above ground, along with a museum, but much of the site remains unexcavated.
Despite being 2,000 years old, much of the Wroxeter site remains unexcavated, although the site is open to the public.
Today, a small number of ruined buildings are on display there, including the largest free-standing piece of Roman wall in the country and the city’s public baths.
Meanwhile, a museum contains artifacts such as figures of deities, water pipes, glass perfume bottles and amulets.
Most of the city still remains buried, but it has been largely mapped using geophysical surveys, which emit waves to map underground features.
