The Hinton St Mary Mosaic
Roman Britain, 4th century AD
Dorset, England
The earliest known image of Christ?
This magnificent mosaic was discovered buried beneath a field in
the village of Hinton St Mary, Dorset, in 1963. There were traces
of a substantial building complex, probably including the remains
of a villa. The mosaic was part of the best-preserved wing. The
walls on either side had been demolished, probably in the
post-Roman period.
It is designed as a continuous floor in two large panels, to fit
two connecting rooms. As often happened in the Roman world, the old
pagan beliefs were juxtaposed with the new religion of
Christianity. The smaller room contains a central roundel which
shows the hero Bellerophon mounted on his winged horse, Pegasus. He
is spearing the three-headed monster, Chimaera. The roundel is
flanked on two sides by hunting scenes, with stags pursued by
hounds who wear studded collars.
The second and larger room includes four panels, three showing
similar hunting scenes and one a large, spreading tree. In the
corners are busts of four human figures, all apparently male, with
windswept hair. They may represent the four Evangelists, the four
winds, or indeed both.
In the central roundel is what is thought to be the earliest
representation of Christ yet found in Britain, and the only such
portrait on a mosaic floor discovered in the Roman Empire. He is
portrayed as a clean-shaven man. The bust is placed before the
Greek letters chi and rho, the first two letters of Christ's name;
placed together as a monogram they formed the normal symbol for
Christianity at this time. If it is Christ, it stands at the very
beginning of a tradition seen most strikingly on the wall and vault
mosaics of Byzantine churches.
J.M.C. Toynbee, 'A new Roman mosaic pavement found in Dorset', Journal of Roman Studies, 64 (1964), pp. 7-14
M. Henig, The art of Roman Britain (London, Batsford, 1995)
K.S. Painter, 'The Roman site at Hinton St. Mary, Dorset', The British Museum Quarterly-3, 31 (1967), pp. 15-31