At the hotel we stayed at there was the remains of an amazing Roman villa in the grounds (AD 360?)The Orpheus mosaic was discovered in 1728 and re-buried in 1730, probably in order to preserve it, then re-discovered in 1977. Almost half of it had been destroyed by the elements but it was painstakingly restored using modern terracotta so that now we can imagine how beautiful and vibrant it must have been during Roman times. The circle (probably) depicts the Four Seasons:
- Kore/Persephone
- Aphrodite/Venus
- Nemesis/Leda
- Demeter
It is so beautiful and I felt quite in awe of the workmanship.
As you can see, although a cover has been built over it and railings put up to prevent people damaging it further, birds and the elements are still able to get onto the mosaic. Maybe it needs to have a glass cover....
Actually it's quite exciting to still be able to walk inside the villa walls and imagine how it must have felt to live there all those centuries ago. It was built quite close to the river, just a matter of yards in fact, so would there have been flooding, I wonder? How much deeper would the water have been? Who lived there? Soldiers or a whole community? Apparently, hotel guests and staff have heard feet tramping through the dark as if soldiers were on the march....
Inside the hotel are several cabinets containing many artefacts which have been found in the vicinity, and which are now on loan from the museum. Wow....
Whilst exploring we found this......I would NOT like to sleep in this one!
This next photo was taken in the Long Gallery next to the Haunted Bedroom and this is where I struggled to take certain photos. At first, I couldn't get a shot of this at all, it just shimmered, then suddenly I was allowed to take one. Behind the yellow flag is a small gap in the wood panelling which exposes some of the original flint wall. I couldn't snap this at all but I did get a shot of DH trying with his own camera. He just got a shimmer too....
I was way too wary to touch the exposed bit of wall. I am such a wuss!
Does anyone else love historical sites? I so wish I had paid more attention to history lessons at school but there is no substitute for actually * feeling * the history. Is anyone out there into archaeology?
Thanks ever so for popping in x
I live quite close to Chester which has a huge amount of Roman history. I would hate to sleep in the haunter room too, my husband would love to though. I'm glad you had a good time on your break.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joanne, it was lovely. I've visited Chester and love that area too. We did the wall walk and, of course, went in all the lovely shops ;)
DeleteLooks very interesting, I love learning about different places, I believe in ghosts, but I wouldn't sleep in the even for a million pounds.
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