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In 2022, MOLA archaeologists working on the Liberty development site in Southwark on behalf of Landsec, Transport for London (TfL), and Southwark Council, uncovered a pair of striking Roman mosaics. This beautiful flooring featured stunning flower motifs in black, yellow, white, and grey (see CA 386), and would once have been the decor for a Roman mansio, or rest station.
In the almost 2,000 years since the 2nd- to 3rd-century mosaic was first laid by its craftspeople, the white mortar used to set the tesserae had broken down and become extremely soft. So, when the team were faced with the task of lifting and storing the mosaics in one piece, they knew it would be a precarious one indeed.
After a survey, the MOLA team began the painstaking removal process by first creating a solid edge around the tesserae using a special long-fibred paper, and then reinforcing gaps in the mosaic. Next, a layer of thin netting was fixed on top of the tesserae to keep the individual pieces in place.
With the mosaics secured together, it was time to lift them. Using long, flat tools usually employed in removing modern-day roof tiles, the archaeological conservator was able to carefully separate the mosaics from the layer of mortar that had been used to fix them to the floor of the building that had once stood around them.
The mosaics are now safely in storage, where they will remain until the new development opens. They will then form part of a public display that will also include the Roman mausoleum found on the site in 2023 (see CA 402).
Text: Rebecca Preedy / Image: © MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology)
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