Second Hinton mosaic rewriting local history

[guy]

 

In 1963 at Hinton St. Mary, England, a Roman mosaic was first excavated. Recently, a newly-discovered second mosaic at Hinton is rewriting local Roman history: 

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Archaeologists are expecting to re-write the story surrounding Hinton St Mary’s iconic Roman mosaic pavement almost six decades after the original discovery.

After just two weeks back at the site, archaeologists commissioned by the British Museum have uncovered parts of a second mosaic, plus thousands of other finds ranging from pottery to oyster shells.

“Everything we are finding suggests that up until about 350 AD the site was open fields.
“But about 350 somebody – or some people – decided to build some elaborate buildings here.
“They had the finest mosaics that money could buy and decorated walls around them too.
“But it was only used for about 50 years before the Roman occupation ended.”
 

“It’s thought that it may represent Jesus Christ. If it’s not Jesus, it might be one of the first Christian emperors but [either way] it’s important.

“We now know there wasn’t a Roman villa here. There were Roman buildings but they weren’t part of a big farmhouse or manor.
 

“Clearly it was a place of importance, perhaps religiously.It could have been a shrine or the focus of an early Christian community, perhaps a monastic one. But it was only an important place for a maximum of 50 to 100 years.” Peter believes there was ‘almost certainly’ no overlap into the Anglo-Saxon era for the Hinton site.

 

 

https://www.theblackmorevale.co.uk/2022/07/02/re-writing-hintons-history/

Edited July 13, 2022 by guy

[guy]

More background information:

The Hinton St Mary Mosaic covered two rooms, joined by a small, decorated threshold, with the larger of the rooms containing a portrait bust of a man in a white pallium in front of a Christian chi-rho symbol and flanked by two pomegranates.

(The above mosaic was discovered in 1963 and is currently housed at the British Museum)

The newly discovered mosaic is shown in the original post currently being excavated. It features black, white, and red tesserae. It was unfortunately badly damaged by years of ploughing of the land. These new discoveries also include everyday objects: jewelry, coins, roof tiles, and kiln fire bricks.

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The excavations have suggested a new narrative for the Hinton St Mary complex. Archaeological evidence indicates that before AD 350 the site was open fields, with occupation lasting for only 50 years.

Instead of being a villa or farmhouse as previously proposed, it is now suggested that the site served a religious function as a shrine or an early Christian community, perhaps a monastic one that had a complex of small structures until it was abandoned.

 

 

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/07/second-mosaic-uncovered-at-famous-hinton-st-marys-roman-site/144102?amp

 

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/mosaic-dorset-hinton-st-mary-1234633956/amp/

Edited February 11 by guy