A Brief History of an Ancient Mosaic

In 1984, archaeologists made a startling discovery on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

Among the ruins of an ancient Roman home, they excavated a surprisingly intact mosaic. Buried under mere centimeters of earth for over one millennium, its thousands of tiny, colorful tiles, called tesserae, were largely undamaged and revealed a magnificent scene.

The mosaic features one of the most popular Greco-Roman myths—the young, charming half-god Orpheus serenading a gathering of wild animals with the divine music of his lyre. Some of the creatures are raising their paws or wings in reverence, entranced by the concert. Because this mosaic was such a rare and artistically important find, the home where it was found was named the House of Orpheus.

Who created this mosaic? How was it made? Why was it abandoned? And how is it being protected? The discovery is just one chapter in this mosaic’s long history, one that involves wealthy Romans, the art of mythology, and the conservators who help keep it safe. Let’s piece its story together.

Not-So-Humble Beginnings

The House of Orpheus was built at Nea Paphos, a prosperous coastal city and the capital of Cyprus under Roman rule. It dates to the late-2nd/early-3rd century CE, at the height of the Roman period on the island. High-ranking Roman officials stationed on the island often used taxes from the local population to fund their lavish lifestyles. They built large, private homes in a residential section of Nea Paphos, adjacent to its spectacular coastline, and hired local artisans to decorate their dwellings with all the luxury—mosaics, wall paintings, and sculpture—that the Romans believed befit their status. The House of Orpheus was no exception.

Floor mosaics were a popular element in wealthy Roman homes and coveted for their complexity, grand size, and the popular myths they often depicted. While a skilled artisan created the Orpheus mosaic, there are few clues about who that person was. Artisans during this time rarely signed their completed work. There is an inscription above the Orpheus mosaic that translates to “Titus [or Gaius] Pinnius Restitutus made it,” but this usually referred to the owner of the house who commissioned it, not the mosaicist who created it. It’s rare that there would be an inscription at all—another detail that makes the piece so special.

Breaking Down Art and Myth

According to Greek myth, Orpheus was the son of the god Apollo and the muse Calliope, though there are many different stories and interpretations of his life. Beautiful lyre playing was his claim to fame, especially in relation to his tragic marriage to Eurydice. The myth also holds that animals, plants, and even rocks danced in delight when he played, and ancient art frequently shows him with this audience.

This mosaic depicts Orpheus sitting on a rock, wearing a high-waisted tunic, baggy trousers, pink sandals, and a soft conical red head covering known as a Phrygian cap (worn frequently in what is now Eastern Europe). His half-open mouth indicates he is singing, with the lyre leaning on a rock at his side. He holds the plectrum (or lyre pick) in his outstretched right hand, but rather than plucking the strings, he seems to be gesturing to the effect his music has on the creatures that have gathered around him.

A fox, bear, boar, bull, leopard, lion, tiger, deer, snake, and six birds (partridge, parrot, peacock, eagle, and two that are partially destroyed due to root damage and not identifiable) surround him. While their relative sizes are not realistic (a parrot is not as large as a tiger), their anatomical features are impressively well-rendered (notice the hairy back of the boar or the slithering snake tail).

Most of the tesserae are from local stone, though some are made from imported marble and some from glass for decorative details, such as bird feathers and Orpheus’s eye. Light and dark colored stones accentuate the textures of muscle, fur, feathers, and the folds of Orpheus’s tunic, with small black ones used to show the pupils of the animals gazing upward and longer ones used for their fangs.

Reburial and Renewal

As the Roman Empire shrunk and its power declined, the capital moved to the eastern part of Cyprus, and Christianity began to take hold. Nea Paphos suffered a decline, though many of its houses remained in use through the 5th century CE. While we don’t know exactly when the House of Orpheus was abandoned, we do know that the Orpheus mosaic was likely buried by a layer of earth relatively quickly and left undisturbed for a long time. British soldiers digging trenches for air raid shelters during World War II accidentally discovered part of the House of Orpheus itself in 1942; however, the Orpheus mosaic remained hidden at the site until its excavation in 1984.

The House of Orpheus was built on the remains of an earlier structure, a common occurrence in ancient constructions. Because of this, the mosaic had begun to sag and sink in various places, requiring a conservation strategy to stabilize it and prevent further collapse, as well as prevent damage from humans, animals, plants, and the weather. In 1988, experts from the Getty Conservation Institute partnered with the Department of Antiquities in Cyprus to develop a way to conserve the mosaic.

The team decided that the best approach was to detach the top layer of tesserae from its deteriorated foundations and re-lay it on a lightweight panel of aluminum honeycomb and resin. The mosaic would be detached in one piece, using a large wooden cylinder around which it was rolled face down (kind of like an ancient burrito). After cleaning the mosaic, a facing of two layers of fabric and an adhesive were applied to its surface to prevent the loss of tesserae during this risky operation. Once they completed the work, the Conservation Institute designed and built a temporary shelter over the mosaic to protect it until a permanent shelter could be designed and constructed by the Department of Antiquities.

In 2004, more than 15 years after work at the site was completed, Getty Conservation Institute staff visited Nea Paphos to find that the temporary shelter erected to protect the mosaic suffered from a lack of ongoing monitoring and maintenance. While the mosaic was still in good shape, they made the tough decision to dismantle the temporary shelter and rebury the mosaic until it could be better protected by a permanent structure.

While some works of art don’t thrive underground, mosaics fare surprisingly well—no humans or animals step directly on them, and damage from weather or vandals is reduced. Their main enemy is the damage caused by roots, which can dislocate the tesserae. Proper reburial techniques and ongoing maintenance can mitigate much of this damage. In fact, a well-planned and well-maintained reburial environment is one of the most protective locations for an ancient mosaic.