Mosaic pavements in the thermae of Augusta Traiana (Preliminary report)
Mosaic pavements in the thermae of Augusta Traiana (Preliminary report)

Summary/Abstract: During the archaeological investigations in 1974-1975, conducted by D. Nikolov and D. Yankov, a significant part of a thermal building with auditorium in front of it has been discovered in close proximity to the Southwestern gate of Augusta Traiana-Beroe. One of the excavated rooms, interpreted as vestibule, was decorated with mosaic pavement, over which a synthronon was built later, connected with the transformation of this part of the complex into Early Christian basilica. The mosaic floor itself was excavated completely in two stages, the second one performed in 2013.The mosaic covers all the space of the vestibule. Its decoration is formed by several bands in the central part, in front of the exedras and the niches different floral and geometric ornaments are represented. The technique is opus tessellatum, with dimensions of the tesserae from 1 cm up to 1.6 cm with a great variety of colours: white, black, ochre, red, grey and light blue. As a whole the condition of the mosaic is good, but in some parts can be seen small areas with stratification, cracks and single loss of tesserae. On other places some repairs with mortar can be observed, whose aim was to level the deformed surface. The mosaic pavements will be exposed in situ after the protective building is erected and the conservation activities finish.

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