ROMAN MOSAICS OF BRITAIN, Vol 2: South West Britain

Roman Mosaics of Britain, by Stephen R Cosh and David S Neal, is the culmination of more than seventy years of combined research and meticulous draughtsmanship by the two authors, who are both in the forefront of mosaic scholarship. Their work, to be published in four volumes, is a complete illustrated catalogue of every known Romano-British mosaic - nearly 2,000 in all - of which almost 450 feature in Volume II. Presented in the form of a county gazetteer, each mosaic is described, with drawings, photographs of figured elements and references. In many cases, the entry is illustrated by one of the authors' detailed paintings, which are faithful to the colour and composition of each mosaic. Where known, the site entries include plans, so that the pavements can be placed in their architectural context.

Volume II includes some of the finest Romano-British mosaics ever uncovered. The South West has Britain's greatest concentration of figured mosaics, including, at Hinton St Mary, one of the earliest depictions of Christ. Several pavements illustrate scenes from Virgil's Aeneid or Ovid's Metamorphoses. Clusters of villas, especially around the Roman towns of Ilchester and Bath, were the source of plentiful commissions to support groups of mosaicists, whose work is discussed in the general introduction to the volume. As well as the organization of the craft, the history of mosaic discoveries, building types, room function, figured work and schemes are also considered. Each county has its own detailed introduction.

Already published: Volume I. Northern Britain: Order ref 18028 £160.00

Reviews of Volume I:

'This book, its contents and high production standard represent the "Rolls Royce" of archaeological publication.' (P A Clayton, Minerva, January/ February 2003)

'It is a monumental achievement, and the authors deserve our warmest congratulations.' (Roger Ling, Journal of Roman Archaeology, 2003)

'On voit demblee qu'il s'agit d'un tres beau livre, qui rivalise sans peine avec les plus belles realisations du corpus international de la mosa'ique antique.' (J-P Darmon, Bulletin del' Association Internationale pour I'Etude de la Mosa'ique antique, 2003)

(ASPROM Members please contact Buckland Books for special price)

Price: £160.00