Magical Mystery Mosaic

Related Content

• Dig Into Ancient Culture
  April 25, 2012
• Ya Big Baboon!
  February 29, 2012
• Wu-Tang Clan: Show Preview
  January 18, 2012
• "Chimpanzee": Wild Animals Made Family-Friendly
  April 18, 2012
• "Big Miracle": Saving the Whales Doesn't Save Any Laughs
  February 8, 2012

More About

• TV Networks
• Television

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

A cheetah leaps onto a gazelle’s back with its claws unsheathed. Nearby, a peacock struts, his brilliant tail feathers on full display. A mother bird next door is flanked by five chicks. Scenes from Animal Planet? Not really, although maybe its ancient equivalent: The scenes of courtship (peacock), birth (chicks), death (gazelle), and dining (cheetah) are from a richly detailed ancient mosaic. It was found in an Israeli town that was originally a Canaanite settlement. The area has changed hands many times during its long history, but at the time this mosaic was created (approximately AD 300) the city was under Rome’s control. Archaeologists uncovered it in 1996 while excavating the villa of someone they believe was a well-to-do Roman. See the artwork for yourself in the exhibition “Marvelous Menagerie: A Roman Mosaic from Lod, Israel” before it returns to its home city. Installed on the floor of the museum as it was found in Lod, the mosaic is almost perfectly preserved despite the tempestuous history of the region in which it was found. Within intricately laid borders, individual panels depict various manner of wildlife, including a gorgeous fantasia of marine creatures at one end. Yet it doesn’t include a single human being, which is unusual for Roman mosaics of the time period. Maybe the artist knew he was better at animals than people, or maybe he was on to something that we now call Animal Planet.
April 26-June 24, 2011