If the ‘Nile Mosaic’ had been put on display in the Vatican Museum in Rome, it would be the star attraction, certainly of the Egyptian rooms, surrounded by crowds of visitors. As things are, though, the mosaic is housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina – a provincial museum 30km or so east of Rome (think of St Albans in relation to London). Most people are unlikely to make the four-hour return trip from Rome just to see the mosaic. In my view, this is a major missed opportunity.
All Egypt in one image
What exactly is the Palestrina Nile Mosaic? Put simply, it is a spectacular scene depicting the River Nile created from several hundred thousand chips of coloured stone – tesserae – arranged in a rough rectangle (with a semi-circular projection at the top). The Nile floods the surrounding landscape, zigzagging back and forth from the Delta region at the base, as far as Upper Egypt and Meroë at the top. Measuring nearly 6 metres wide, and just over 4 metres high, it is of course not geographically accurate, and yet the mosaic with its vignettes manages to capture the essence of Graeco-Roman Egypt (1st century BC).
On the river there is plenty of traffic, including reed boats, sailing boats and, at the base, a Graeco-Roman trireme. Egypt’s abundant wildlife is shown, including two animals emblematic of the country: the crocodile and the hippo. Two of the hippos have been pierced by javelins during a hunt, while a man in a boat is about to throw another javelin at the third animal. The crocodiles fare better: while one basks on a small island, a second looks poised to dart to safety in the Nile. Numerous palms and tamarisks, trees native to Egypt, are dotted across the mosaic.
Excavating Staffordshire