Unswept floor mosaic in Canterbury

The "unswept floor" is a theme from classical mosaics, such as one to be found in the Vatican. The idea is to give the appearance of real objects littering a floor, as a kind of trompe l'oeil effect. There is a even a specific Greek term for this - "asaroton". Typically the items are debris from a feast, indicating that the owner of the house knows how to throw a really good party. This example is a modern mosaic in the entrance to the Roman Museum in Canterbury's Butchery Lane. It was a collaborative project led by mosaicist Martin Cheek. The pictures below show a number of details from the work.

A discarded apple core.

The sketal remains of a fish.

As well as the remains of the feast there is a mouse - an uninvited guest.

Mussel shells, and the date of the mosiac (2000 in Roman numerals). other mosaics in Canterbury back to list (mosaics in the south of England) Click for a list of other Roman mosaics you can see on this site