Grottoes

Name of structure: Grottoes
Extended name of structure:
Type of structure: Grotto
Country or main area: Italy
Region within country or main area: Latina, Lazio
City or area within region: Villa of Tiberius, Sperlonga
Date of structure: Large natural cave
Century of structure 1:
Century of structure 2:
Specific place of mosaic: See below
Brief descriptive contents of mosaic:

Large grotto: shell decoration. Plinth around walls with traces of clear greenish glass tesserae.  Pilasters around a doorway leading to a smaller room – a couple of Egyptian blue tt and one of yellow glass. A fallen piece of wall at mouth of grotto has Egyptian blue, black glass and one red tesserae.


Navis Argo mosaic plaque: includes Egyptian blue, yellow, light and dark blue tesserae.


Fragments in museum:  flower on blue glass ground, plus various others, not sure whether glass or not. Include shell decoration.


Small grotto: Shell decoration. Plinth decorated with glass mosaic. Inside a lot of Egyptian blue, and green and light blue tesserae.


Frieze: to the left of small grotto, running along the cliff face is 30cm high frieze with borders of red, yellow and green glass tesserae, plus shell decoration
Date of mosaic: First century AD
Century of mosaic 1: 1 AD
Century of mosaic 2:
Silver tessera at site: No
Gold tessera at site: No
Colour tessera at site: Yes
Were other materials found at site (i.e., glass cakes)?
Has analysis been done?
Samples taken from where?
Excavation and restoration campaigns:
Bibliography of mainly technical resources:

Sear, Frank B., Roman Wall and Vault Mosaics (Heidelberg: F. H. Kerle Verlag, 1977), pp. 64-65
See also:
Maiuri, Amedeo, Bd’A, 25 (1931), 159
Jacobi, G., L’antro di Tiberio a Sperlonga (Rome: Instituto di Studi Romani, 1963)

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