Archaeology: 'Unique' Roman mosaic found under farmer's field

The rare Roman mosaic has been described as most important find for 100 years

Archaeologists have described a Roman mosaic which was discovered under a farmer's field as the most important mosaic in the last 100 years.

The 1,500-year-old artwork is part of a villa which was found by the landowner's son in Rutland, East Midlands.

It is so important that the villa complex and the mosaic have been given protected status by the government and been made a Scheduled Monument.

Historic England described the mosaic as "one of the most remarkable and significant... ever found in Britain".

A mosaic is a picture made up of small pieces of glass, or in this case tile. Mosaics were particularly popular in Roman times and often showed scenes from mythology.

Urgent excavation work was carried out at the site after unusual pottery was discovered nearby

The Rutland mosaic, which forms the floor of what was thought to be a dining or entertaining area of the villa, measures 11m x 7m (36ft x 23ft).

It is thought to be unique to the UK because it shows the warrior Achilles and his battle with Hector at the end of the Trojan War.

The events of the Trojan War are written about in a number of works of Ancient Greek literature, including Homer's epic poem The Iliad, which is at least 2,500 years old.

The mosaic is considered unique because of the scenes it depicts

Experts say the owner of the villa would have known about classical literature which is why that particular design would have been chosen.

Jim Irvine, son of landowner Brian Naylor, made the discovery after spotting "unusual pottery" on a walk during the 2020 lockdown.

It has been excavated by archaeologists from the University of Leicester, funded by Historic England.

John Thomas, deputy director of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services and project manager on the excavations, said: "This is certainly the most exciting Roman mosaic discovery in the UK in the last century.