Mosaics in the ancient world were mostly made for private houses, and, as we all
instinctively know, you can tell a great deal about someone from their house. Studying
mosaics and the other decoration of ancient houses provides fascinating insights into the
activities, values, economic standing and social aspirations of people living in the past. On this site are summaries of several papers in which I attempt to see the occupants
of ancient houses as their contemporaries might have seen them. These articles are based on a complete corpus of Classical and Hellenistic mosaics, from the introduction of pebble mosaics c. 400 BC, down to the final sack of Delos in 69 BC. It aims to include all the decorated mosaics of pebbles, tesserae, stone chips and
mixed materials known from this period. To read the abstracts, click here (page size 258K including images).
Also on this site is a basic bibliography for Greek and Roman mosaics, covering the period c. 400 BC to AD 400, and some links to other mosaic-related websites. Move the mouse over the pictures to see the captions.
