Geometric Themes in Villae of the Conventus Pacensis

Abstract

The project of drawing up an inventory of Roman mosaics in the territory of present-day Portugal requires, in the first stage, a methodical consultation of as many existing sources of information as possible, both of the current and of the past centuries. In doing so, trends in the compositional grammar and in the iconographic discourse chosen will gradually be outlined, eventually allowing the individualization of local, regional or even itinerant workshops. In the process of consulting the records of Roman mosaics in Portuguese territory of Lusitania we can identify the existence of geometric mosaics in Roman villae of Alentejo, less known but not less interesting as regards the repertoire of their floors. From some of them - disappeared in the years following their discovery – there is nothing left but the reports of the archaeological campaigns then carried out and one or another photograph or drawing included in them. Largely in very poor state of conservation, the still existing fragments are, today, testimony of a very own decorative syntax.

Keywords

• mosaics
• inventory
• geometric motifs
• iconography
• mosaic workshop