Images

Floral trellis pattern mosaic with busts of the seasons in wreathed squares. From Carthage, modern-day Tunisia. Mid-2nd century CE. (The British Museum, London)

This mosaic wall shows a variety of birds, including a peacock within a meander border. From Utica, modern-day Tunisia. First half of the 3rd century CE. (The British Museum, London)

Tame deer drinking from an ornate fountain; this scene became popular in Early Christian art as symbolizing the fountain of life. From Carthage, modern-day Tunisia. 4th or 5th century CE. (The British Museum, London)

A fragment of a floor mosaic depicting a fishing scene. From Utica, modern-day Tunisia. Late 3rd or 4th century CE. (The British Museum, London)

This is part of a hunting scene from a pavement showing a boar confronting a hunting dog. The pavement is one of a common North African type, depicting a favourite pastime of wealthy landowners. From Carthage, modern-day Tunisia. Late 5th...

An artist's impression of what a Greek diplomatic delegation may have looked like.

An artist's impression of what a scene from Carthaginian or Near Eastern government may have looked like.

An illustration of the Roman sawmill at Hieropolis. 3rd century CE.

An illustration of a breastshot waterwheel, used, for example, by the Romans to power mills for grinding grain.

A textile fragment from a tomb at the sacred Andean site of Pachacamac, south of Lima. (Historisches Museum Bern‎, Switzerland)