Museum Explorer
Birds and beasts in Roman Britain
The Leadenhall Street Mosaic
From: Leadenhall Street, London (discovered in
1803)
Date: 1st or 2nd century AD
Wealthy Romans liked the walls and floors of their homes to be full of colour and pattern. They used mosaics made of thousands of tiny tiles, called tesserae, to cover the floors of the main rooms in their villas.
This amazing mosaic from a Roman floor is over a metre wide. It shows Bacchus, the god of wine and parties. Usually he is shown riding a leopard, but this picture shows him making a visit to India, so instead he is riding a tiger.
