The Great Pavement of Woodchester - The Orpheus - Roman Mosaic Floor

A 20th century reconstruction of the Great Roman Pavement of Woodchester. Especially noteworthy for its opulent design comprising approximately 1.6 million individually fired clay tesserae. Researched and made by Robert and John Woodward in the 1970’s.

The original Roman Great Pavement of Woodchester is believed to have been laid in around 325 A.D. It is by far the most elaborate of the several hundred Roman Mosaic Floor s known in Britain and the largest in Europe, north of the Alps.

The Story of Orpheus The Great Pavement depicts the story of Orpheus, the quasi-divine musician and singer of Greek mythology whose music had the power to move trees and subdue wild creatures. Orpheus is seated in the open side of the central octagon on the North/South axis of the floor. He wears a Phrygian cap, a striped tunic and breeches and a flowing cloak which billows from his shoulders. Immediately outside the octagon is a circle of birds including pheasants, peacocks and doves. Outside the bird zone is a band of laurel leaves encircled by a guilloche. The most dramatic feature of the mosaic is the animal circle. This contains eleven beasts stalking around the floor: a Lion, Lioness, Wild Boar, Horse, Elephant, Tiger, Gryphon, Bear, Leopard, Stag and Tigress, then follows the mask of Neptune with lobster claws sprouting from his head. On either side of him are the beautiful acanthus scrolls said to symbolize the waves of the sea. The circles are enclosed within a square border and four pairs of water nymphs are placed in the spandrels. At each corner of this central square is a stone pillar base. Outside the central square are twenty four geometric panels. Almost all the standard patterns used by the Roman mosaicists are to be found in this floor. The Great Pavement of Woodchester is one of some fifty Roman mosaics depicting Orpheus charming wild creatures. These have been found in all parts of the Roman Empire and range in date from the second century to the fifth.

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