Understanding Boxford’s Roman mosaic

The late Roman figurative mosaic discovered at Mud Hole, Boxford in Berkshire between 2017 and 2019 has proved to be the most important found in Britain for over fifty years. Covered with scenes from classical mythology and with a unique design, it is indeed unlike anything previously found in Britain. This lecture offers the excavator’s interpretation into its design, the wealth of figurative work and the stories from Greco-Roman mythology that it depicts and how it reflects the art of its own and previous centuries and the culture of those who commissioned it.
Anthony Beeson is an expert on Roman and Greek art and architecture, a Classical iconographer. He is the author of the books Roman Gardens and The Boxford Mosaic, as well as many articles on antiquities and art in academic journals. His latest volume, Mosaics in Roman Britain is due for publication in March 2022. He is the Hon. Archivist of the Association for Roman Archaeology, and a member and former Archivist of the Association for the Study and Preservation of Roman Mosaics, and has appeared on Time Team. In 2017-9 he interpreted, excavated and produced the official report on the internationally-famous mosaic of Pegasus and Bellerophon found at Boxford in Berkshire.