Technique and Materials of Hellenistic Mosaics

Author(s): Katherine M. D. Dunbabin

Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 83, No. 3 (Jul., 1979), pp. 265-277
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/505057
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 Technique and Materials of Hellenistic Mosaics
KATHERINE M.D. DUNBABIN

(Pls. 37-39)

Abstract do not appear to evolve in an orderly sequence, and

a technique by itself cannot be used as grounds for
The common division of Greek mosaics into peb-
ble mosaics and tessellated mosaics does not do
dating a pavement. There is no evidence that the
tessellated technique is derived from that of the peb-
justice to the variety of techniques available in the
ble mosaics; it seems plausible to suggest that it
Hellenistic period. Several other categories can be
developed out of the chip pavements, but the present
distinguished, which, although predominantly stateutili-of the evidence does not allow this to be es-
tarian, may also be used for decorative purposes.tablished for certain.
The most common form is the chip pavement, in
use at least as early as the fourth century B.C.;
plain pavements of this type are found at Olynthus
Greek mosaics are normally divided into two
alongside the pebble mosaics. Several mosaics com-
posed of irregular fragments of stone show the mosaics of natural pebbles, and mosaics
categories,
introduction of ornamental and figured designsof artificially
into shaped, more or less regular tesserae.'
the chip technique, and illustrate experimentsThe inpebble technique is unquestionably the ear-
shaping the pieces artificially; however, the lier
dating
form; examples of it from the fifth and early
evidence is not adequate to establish this process as
fourth centuries B.C. are found at Olynthus, Mo-
a separate chronological phase, or to clarify the
relationship of these pavements to the latertya and elsewhere in the Greek world, and in Asia
pebble
mosaics. Minor as early as the eighth century at Gordion.2
Other mosaics show a mixture of pebbles and
The form reaches its highest degree of sophistica-
chips or tesserae in the same pavement. In the
tion in the mosaics of Pella, for which no definite
Triton mosaic at Olympia and one or two others,
dating evidence yet exists, although they undoubt-
a few chips and shaped pieces are used for colors
not available in pebbles, or to give greater preci-edly belong to the early Hellenistic period.3 The
sion to the forms, and may represent an intermedi-earliest tessellated mosaics known are those of the
ate stage in combining the two techniques; again, mid-third century at Morgantina in Sicily;4 apart
the chronological framework is far from clear. from these, there is little evidence for placing any
Other pavements of mixed technique show only of a the Hellenistic tessellated mosaics before the
more sophisticated desire for contrasting textures.
The chronological problems render the conclu-second century, and the literary evidence which
has been cited in this context is unreliable.5 Certain
sions to be drawn largely negative. The techniques
1 For the further subdivision of tessellated mosaic intoLa
opus
Mosaique Greco-Romaine 1963 (Paris 1965) 41-55. Petsas
tessellatum and opus vermiculatum (so-called), see infra p.
suggests a date in the late fourth century for the mosaics from
267 and n. 13; it is not my primary concern in what follows.
one building, on the grounds that some of the architectural
2 Olynthus: D.M. Robinson, Excavations at Olynthus, 5 (Bal-
features seem characteristic of that century, and at the be-
timore 1933) I-I4; 8 (1938) 281-90; 12 (1946) 323-68. ginning
All of the third for those from the second building,
the mosaics must date before the destruction of the town in
which appears more advanced in style (Archaeology I7
348 B.C.; some certainly go back to the fifth century. Motya:
[19641 79), but no more substantial evidence exists at present:
J. Whitaker, Motya (London 1921) 194-98; a terminus ante see C.M. Robertson, JHS 85 (1965) 75, 87, 89.
quem is probably provided by the town's destruction in 398/74 K. Phillips, ArtB 42 (1960) 243-62; see infra pp. 272-73.
(though see V. Tusa, in I. Brancoli et al., Mozia 3 [Rome
5The galley of Hieron II of Syracuse, of which it is re-
19671 85-95, proposing a date in the second half of the fourth
corded "raibra b6 rcvra 5a7dreov ELxe e'v dfiaK iKOLS oVy-
century. He may be right in asserting that the house couldKEi/EPLVOV JK rravTroLov XLO WV, V, oi9 7v KarTEaKEvaaCT.LEvO ra
be later than the destruction of the town, but the parallels
6 rrEpL rtHV 'IXtd'a ii00os Oav~aalws" (Ath. 5.207c), has been
with Pella which he quotes for the mosaic do not seem to meas evidence for the invention of tessellated mosaic in
cited
at all conclusive; rather it has much more in common with Sicily by the mid-third century (D. Levi, Antioch Mosaic
those from Olynthus). Gordion: R. Young, AJA 61 (i957)Pavements [Princeton 19471 4-5, followed by Phillips, ArtB
322, pl. 89, fig. 7 and Expedition 7,3 (1964/1965) 4-13. 42 [1960] 246, and others). Bruneau, however, disputes the
3 Ch. Makaronas, Deltion I6 (I960) 73-75, pls. 37, 40-47 andcommon interpretation of dciaKlOKOL as tesserae; its meaning
Deltion 17,2 (I96I1/962) 212-13, pls. 241-50; P. Petsas, Ar- to him seems rather to be the panels or slabs in which the
chaeology II (1958) 246-54, Archaeology 17 (1964) 74-84 and mosaics (of unspecified technique) are constructed (REG 80

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 266 KATHERINE M.D. DUNBABIN [AJA 83
lution is further made
floors appear to be intermediate the basis for at the
between least tenta-
two
techniques: some (including some
tive chronological of
judgments. thesuggests:
Robertson Mor-
gantina pavements) are composed
"A development from theseof irregular
[the Pella mosaics] of
tessellated mosaic
fragments of stone, lacking the in the middle and second half
regularity and
predominantly squared form ofcentury,
of the third trueleading
tesserae; oth-
on to the Pergamene
ers combine pebbles andworkartificially shaped
of the second";8 and pieces
Phillips places "the
of stone, regular or irregular,
transition fromin the
pebble same
to tessera" pave-
shortly before
ment. Unfortunately, most offrom
the mosaics these intermediate
Morgantina, on the grounds of
floors are either undated or highly controversial.
the connection between these and the pebble mo-
It is usually now assumedsaics
thatof Olynthus
a directand Pella." Bruneau, evolu-
linear however,
tion leads from the pebble
caststechnique to the
doubt on the assumption that thedevel-
typological
distinction corresponds to a chronological
opment of true tessellated mosaics, with the irregu- one,
pointing out the lack
lar and mixed technique pavements asof dating evidence for most
experimental
intermediaries in this process. Such
of the supposedly an examples
intermediate evolution
and em-
would most naturally involve
phasizing first theoftentative
the continuation in-
the pebble technique
troduction of shaped pieces among
long after theand
the invention pebbles for
widespread adoption
of tessellation."0
particular parts of the design, then the adoption for
the whole floor (or the most The present
importantpaper has two main aims.
part of First,
it) toof
artificially shaped pieces draw
of attention
stone to which
the variety ofgradually
different mosaic
were made more regular until
techniques they
available became
in the Hellenistic period,true
some
at sort
tesserae. A schema of this least of which go back to the classical
is assumed, phase;
implicit-
ly or explicitly, in most recent
and secondly, accounts
to examine ofinter-
the supposedly the
early history of mosaics, even
mediate while
pavements they
to see to what extent admit
they cor-
the lacunae in our knowledge.
respond to theLevi, for
requirements instance,
of the evolutionary
writes: "If a line of demarcation can be traced in schema outlined above. The results of the enquiry
the natural evolution of the stone pavements in are often somewhat inconclusive; the evidence,
Greece, it is the step between the use of natural particularly for dating, is too scanty to allow a
and that of cut pebbles. For this step, too, the first securely based chronological account of the evolu-
shy beginnings have been correctly pointed out in tion. It will be seen that the normally accepted
Greece itself, e.g., in the use of roughly carved theory needs to be revised to allow for a variety
stones for a few details of some figures, such as the of techniques more complex than the usual dualis-
Triton's eyes in a well known pebble mosaic at tic division implies; and it will be suggested that
Olympia .. ."; and Stern: "Il est bien 6vident the pebble mosaic is not in the strict sense an an-
que la mosaique de tesselles d6rive des pavements cestor of tessellated mosaics, despite its undoubted
de galets.... Une technique de transition . . . influence on their development.
utilise des cailloux tailles en ardtes vives qui se The intrinsic interest of decorated, and espe-
rapprochent des tesselles veritables."' Such an evo- cially of figured mosaics has produced a tendency
[1967] 325-30). I am more inclined to accept the interpreta-Delos, see infra n. 21, on mosaics from Cyrene that may be
tion of von Lorentz as the supporting trays of emblemata (s.v.as early as the third century, infra pp. 269-70.
Mosaik, RE 16 [1935] col. 331). Bruneau's argument, that 6 Levi (supra n. 5) 4; essentially the same statement in
one would expect nrl rather than 9v, is not valid, since theLevi, s.v. Mosaico, EAA 5 (1963) 211-12.
7 H. Stern, "Introduction au Colloque," La Mosaique Grico-
parallel he quotes from Polybius (5,26,13: ras&L ri 7-Tv d3aKitwv
?7poLos) refers to the counters being moved up and down onRomaine 2, 1971 (Paris 1975) 28; he emphasizes, however,
an abacus, unlike the static mosaic stones in their tray; thethe later continuation of pebble mosaics, probably down to
analogy, otherwise correct, fails precisely on this point. Butthe first century B.C. Similar accounts appear in general his-
the passage from Moschion quoted by Athenaeus is in anytories of mosaics: e.g. P. Fischer, Mosaic. History and Tech-
case stated by the author himself to be a rhetorical Uq/paaLs; nique (London 1971) 41-42; H.P. L'Orange and P.J. Nord-
on the veracity of the details, therefore, no reliance can behagen, Mosaics (London 1966) 34.
placed. All it shows is that by the date (unknown) of Moschion, 8 Robertson, JHS 85 (1965) 89, but with some reserva-
mosaics of some sort were familiar enough to be includedtions about the chronology.
among the T7ro7 of luxury decoration (cf. F. Susemihl, Ge- 9 Phillips (supra n. 4) 247-48.
schichte der griechischen Literatur in der Alexandrinerzeit I 10 P. Bruneau, "Prolongements de la technique des mosaiques
[Leipzig 18911 882). On the dates of the earliest mosaics from de galets en Gr&ce," BCH 93 (1969) 308-32.

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 1979] TECHNIQUE AND MATERIALS 267
are capable
to oversimplify accounts of of being exploited
the types to a greater or lesser
of floor used
extent for aesthetic
by the Greeks, and to ignore theand decorative purposes.
plainer forms of
All the pebble mosaics
pavement." In fact, wherever found on Delos are sim-
residential areas o
the Hellenistic period ple,
have been
but examples excavated,
of a very high degree of sophis- a wid
tication
range of different types ofare, floors
of course, found on other
has Greek sites;
been found.
Bruneau, in his publication of the
some of the chip pavements make use ofmosaics
pieces of o
Delos, distinguishes, besides
various colored plain floors
stones;'4 some of the cementof
pave- beate
earth and homogeneous ments havepaving with
a pattern of tesserae;'5 stone
and even the o
brick, six categories of pavement
practical which
ceramic pavements, which may b
were normally
described as being of used in kitchens technique:
mosaic and similar areas, could the
form a com
mon feature of all is that they
simple design. More consist of different
significantly, several separate
techniques are often
pieces of material assembled in combined in the same floor.
a setting of ce-
Thus bandsof
ment."2 It is this technique of tile and amphora fragments
inserting are
a series of
independent pieces into set in chip-pavements
a prepared or opus tessellatum; panels
setting o
cement to form a more or less level surface which of tessellatum or "vermiculatum" are surrounded

may be taken as the basic characteristic of mosaic; by settings of marble chips or of pebbles; and
bands or borders of two or three different tech-
the building up of a picture or pattern out of these
pieces is secondary, and not essential. Bruneau's six niques may alternate.'" Furthermore, the dividing
categories are distinguished partly by the material line between the different techniques is not al-
itself, partly by the way it is used: i) ceramic pave- ways clear. The distinction between tessellatum
ments, where fragments of tile or sherds of pottery and "vermiculatum" is largely arbitrary: the sepa-
rately worked emblema in its own tray is, of course,
are embedded in the cement; 2) pavements of nat-
easily distinguished, but in other figured pave-
ural pebbles; 3) pavements of chips and splinters
ments which appear to have been laid on the spot,
of marble; 4) cement pavements resembling the
the fineness of the technique varies from one part
Italian opus signinum, with occasional tesserae or
other elements scattered at random or set to form to another according to their importance, and can
vary even within the figures themselves." At the
a pattern in the predominating cement surface;
other end of the scale, opus tessellatum tends to
5) opus tessellatum, with more or less regular
merge into the chip pavements; even in some of
tesserae of stone (and also of glass and ceramic), the figured mosaics, the tesserae used are so ir-
used both for designs and for plain floors; and 6)
regular that they resemble the splinters and chips
the so-called opus vermiculatum, with diminutive
of the coarser type of floors."8 In many pavements
tesserae less than 4 mm. square, used for the finest of opus tessellatum, ceramic fragments formed of
figure work." With the exception of the last two, pieces of broken pottery are used to provide reds
most of these types are of a basic utilitarian char- and ochres, and the same tendency to make use of
acter and make use generally of materials which whatever material came to hand is exemplified by
came easily to hand: broken pieces of amphora or the broken fragments of glass bowls used occa-
tile, the waste chippings from a marble workshop, sionally for dark blue." In some of the pebble
natural pebbles from the sea. All of them, however, pavements too, some or all of the pebbles are cut

11 E.g. A. Orlandos, Les Materiaux de Construction I (Paris spite the absence of a clear dividing line between them and
1966) 138, n. 8, dismisses cement floors with the words: "ordi-the lack of ancient authority for the term opus vermiculatum.
nairement, pourtant, on recouvrait les sols des maisons pauvres 14 Infra n. 22.
avec de l'argile battue et ceux des maisons luxueuses avec des 15E.g. Delos 29, 326, 327, p. 310, figs. 279-80; he sug-
mosai'ques a representations"; the cement floors, however, are gests that these may be of Italian inspiration, since opus si-
much more frequent than this statement would imply, whereasgninum is not common in Greece (pp. 22-23).
figured mosaics form only a very small minority. 16 E.g. Delos 29, 135, p. 197, fig. I12; 174, p. 218, fig. 148;
12 P. Bruneau, Exploration archeologique de Delos 29, Les 270, p. 283, figs. 237-40; 328, p. 3Io; and many others: for
Mosaiques (Paris 1972; hereafter Delos 29) 13-14; cf. also lists, cf. Delos 29, pp. 18, 22, 36.
J. Chamonard, Deloc 8, Le Quartier du ThIdtre 2 (Paris 1924)
17 E.g. Dilos 29, 68, pp. 156-69, figs. 55-79; 21o, pp. 235-
391-402. 39, figs. 168-75; and pp. 32-33.
a Delos 29, 16-35. Following Bruneau, I adopt the terms
18 Cf. infra p. 268, and Dilos 29, 26.
opus tessellatum and opus vermiculatum for convenience, de- 29, p. 25.
19 Delos

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 268 KATHERINE M.D. DUNBABIN [AJA 83
in half, with the cut surface exposed;
close together, with this
a pinkish cement also
showing in
suggests a blurring of the distinction
the interstices, and a more orbetween nat-
less flat upper surface
ural and artificially shaped exposed; a materials, as filled
pinkish plaster sometimes does in thethe
combination in the same gaps,part of ais pavement
and the surface sometimes polished. The(not
in separate bands) of pebbles and
marble is of various irregular
shades tes-
of white, varying from
serae, or of cut pebbles and yellow colored
to gray in the chips.20
same pavement. In On a few
gen-
eral there can be no doubt that the mosaicists of examples fragments of stones of other colors are
Delos had a clear notion of the distinction between used; these may form areas or bands of a single
the various techniques. These are often combined color, or different colored stones may be mixed
in a carefully hierarchical arrangement, with the together.22 It has been seen that the technique is
finest technique in the center of the floor, the frequently used in combination with others, espe-
coarser at the edges, and where bands of different cially together with tessellatum (pl. 37, figs. 2 and
techniques are combined, the contrast between, for 3). It occurs in a few examples which are earlier
instance, irregular splinters and regular cubical than the majority of the floors at Delos, and which
tesserae is often calculated. But equally certainly, show that the technique has a longer history. In
they are not conceived as unrelated or mutually the Aphrodision by the Inopos, which dates from
exclusive. the end of the fourth century, the floor of the
The mosaics of Delos represent a late stage in pronaos and cella is paved with long splinters,
Hellenistic mosaics, when the most important tech- some as much as 24 cm. long;23 the Samothrakeion
niques, those of tessellatum and "vermiculatum," in the same quarter had a pavement of splinters
are already fully developed. With a very few ex- of gneiss, granite and marble, five to fifteen cm.
ceptions, they may all be placed at the end of the long, which appears to belong to the fourth cen-
second and beginning of the first centuries B.C.21 tury building;24 and a pavement of marble chips
Obviously, therefore, they can cast little light on of more normal size in the Kynthion probably
the problems of the origins of tessellated mosaic. belongs to the third century building.25 At Delos,
But the existence of the various types suggests at therefore, the technique was in use, at least in some
least the possibility of mutual influence, and shows form, before the later Hellenistic period, when it
that to confine the study of the evolution of the was regarded as a cheap and practical alternative
main decorative forms to the pebble technique on to the true tessellated pavement.
the one hand, and to tessellatum and "vermicula- But there is also evidence elsewhere for its ear-
tum" on the other, may be to impose too rigid a lier use. Several such floors were found at Olyn-
schema. thus, and must therefore antedate 348 B.C. A good
Much the most common type of mosaic at Delos example is in House 5: in the andron a raised ce-
is that made of chips of marble set in cement ment border surrounds a floor made of blue and
(pl. 37, fig. i). The chips normally average be- white pieces of marble set in a reddish cement
tween three and seven cm. in length (though one and polished smooth.26 A similar pavement was
or two floors use much longer pieces), and are found in the andron of the House of Many Colors
quite clearly the waste products of the sculptor's (F ii 9), except that there a narrow border of
or architectural sculptor's workshop, used as they black pebbles ran around the edge of the floor.27
were chipped from the block. They are set fairly Robinson also mentions a fragment, found in
20E.g. Dilos 29, 86, p. 183, figs. 99-101; 152, p. 205, 22 Delos 29, 30 and 31, p. 142, fig. 34; 86, p. 183, figs. 99-
figs. 122-23; 217, p. 256 (pebbles and irregular tesserae in the 101; 238, p. 268, fig. 222; 253, p. 271, fig. 225. All the ex-
black band). For the use of cut pebbles, cf. BCH 93 (1969) amples of the use of color for deliberate effect appear to be
322-24. late: cf. Delos 29, 22.
21 Dilos 29, 99. Internal and archaeological evidence23per- Dilos 29, 148, p. 203, fig. 120.
mits two pebble mosaics, 200 and 2, to be dated in the 24 sixth
Dilos 29, 159, p. 208.
and fifth centuries respectively, and two pavements of 25long
De'los 29, 203, p. 230.
splinters, 148 and 159, to the fourth. The rest of the securely 26D.M. Robinson, Excavations at Olynthus 2 (Baltimore
dated mosaics belong no earlier than the end of the second 1930) 56-57, pl. I, figs. 159-61. The court in front of the
century B.C., and though a few of the undated pavements andron was paved with an undecorated pebble mosaic.
may be earlier, the vast majority closely resemble the27 later
Robinson, Olynthus 12 (1946) 193, pls. 158-65.
group in style, and must be approximately contemporary.

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 1979] TECHNIQUE AND MATERIALS 269
pebble-mosaic.3'
House B ix 2, of a white mosaic Atformed
Thera, the pronaos
oftosmall
the
temple
cut stones with a smooth of Apollosurface
upper Karneios was paved
and withroughly
a floor
rectangular sides, averaging
of marble chips,3-4 cm.
the design in
formed length;
by setting the
from his description these stones seem
in the border
toonbe two sides at right angles
a little more
regular than in the two to those of the central area.32
previous The temple itself
floors.28 is
Frag-
ments from another floor were found in House B dated to the sixth or even the late seventh century
ii i: a pebble mosaic border of meander surrounded B.C., but I know of no evidence for the date of
a center composed of fragments of colored stone,the pavement. Another early chip mosaic was found
white, yellow and reddish-purple, set in plaster, at Euesperides; a terminus ante quem of the mid-
with an overall purple tinge and an extremely third century seems assured.33 The plain white
smooth surface."29 These Olynthus floors show thatpavement is interrupted by a single band, ca. 5 cm.
the chip-mosaic technique was already establishedwide, composed of pieces of black terracotta. On
in the first half of the fourth century, alongside theeither side of this band the white fragments are
(more common) technique of pebble mosaic,30more or less rectangular, though varying consid-
and that attempts had been made both to combine erably in size, so that its edges are clearly outlined;
the two techniques in one floor and to make use the rest are completely irregular (pl. 37, fig. 4).
of color among the chips. Given the sophistica- Here then are clear signs of an approximation of
tion reached by the pebble mosaics, it would notthe technique to tessellation.34
have been a difficult concept to attempt to adapt The Euesperides mosaic is closely related to a
the chip technique also to more decorative ends,group of seven Hellenistic pavements from Cyrene,
and to introduce designs, or even figures. recently published by I. Baldassarre."5 Although
Similar floors are also found alongside pebble precise archaeological evidence for the dating is
mosaics at Vergina-Palatitsa, perhaps early in thelacking, two of the mosaics come from a house
third century. While both plain and decorated which can be placed with some degree of proba-
pebble mosaics are found in the rooms on the south bility within the third century B.C.; the rest ap-
side of the peristyle, the big rooms on the west pear to belong to the course of the second and
side have chip floors, and a threshold panel of beginning of the first century B.C.3 The homo-
white chips leads into the room with the floralgeneity of the group lies principally in the use of
28 Robinson, Olynthus 5 (1933) I, n. 4. of Aphrodite at Aphrodisias; four coins of Antiochus II (261-
29 Robinson (supra n. 26) 102, fig. 239. 246 B.C.) were found beneath the level of the mosaic. It is
30 In the Pompeion at Athens, built around 400 B.C., a chip described as a "rough-tessera" mosaic, the technique inter-
pavement was originally used in Room VI, alongside plain mediate "between pebble and true tessellate mosaics," but has
pebble mosaics in the neighboring rooms; it was subsequently not yet been published in detail, nor is it clear if it originally
replaced by a decorated pebble mosaic, and Hoepfner thinkshad any design (K. Erim, report in M.J. Mellink, "Archaeology
it was never intended to be more than temporary (W. Hoepfner,in Asia Minor," AJA 69 [19651 145, and, for the date, AJA
Das Pompeion und seine Nachfolgerbauten, Kerameikos 10 76 [1972] 185; illustrated in ILN Feb. 20, 1965, p. 21, fig. 3).
[Berlin 1976] 51, figs. 72-73). 35 I. Baldassarre, "Mosaici ellenistici a Cirene e a Delo,"
31 M. Andronikos et al., To anaktoro tis Verginas (Athens Quaderni di Archeologia della Libia 8 (1976) 193-221. I am
i961) 24-25, pIs. 13,1 (threshold panel to Room E), 14-15;grateful to Dr. Baldassarre for photographs of these pavements
Andronikos, Vergina, the Prehistoric Necropolis and the Hel- and information about them.
lenistic Palace (SIMA 13, Lund 1964) 6-7. Antigonus Gonatas 36The Casa del mosaico illusionistico, containing mosaics
is proposed as the builder of the palace; although this cannotnos. I and 2, is of an architectural type characteristic of the
be proved, an early Hellenistic date seems certain. Cf. also third century; there is no sign of earlier pavements in the
L. Heuzey & H. Daumet, Mission Archiologique de Macedoinehouse, and Baldassare considers the mosaics stylistically com-
(Paris 1876) 189, of a room in the northeast corner of the patible with a date in the second half of the third century:
palace with a threshold "en fragments de marbre de diverses(supra n. 35) 199-200. Mosaics nos. 3 and 4, from the south
couleurs . . . formant une sorte de br&che artificielle." and north Hestiatoria, are placed in the first half of the second
32F. Hiller von Gaertringen, Thera I (Berlin 1899) 278. century, on the basis of archaeological evidence which is per-
The technique of forming a design by the manner in which suasive (especially for the northern Hestiatorion), though not
the splinters are set is found also at Delos, where they are absolutely compelling: (supra n. 35) 203 and 208. The chronol-
often set in bands. ogy of the other three pavements is less certain, but on the
33 M. Vickers, JHS-AR 1971-1972, 41, fig. 17. The sitebasis of of stylistic and technical features Baldassarre places them
Euesperides was apparently abandoned after the foundationinofthe course of the second and beginning of the first centuries
Berenice ca. 246 B.C.; cf. G.D.B. Jones and J.H. Little, JRS B.C. She also places in the second half of the third century,
6I (1971) 66-67. for stylistic reasons, the tessellated mosaic from the Apollonion
34 Another third century example was found in the Temple at Cyrene, for which the archaeological evidence indicates only

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 270 KATHERINE M.D. DUNBABIN [AJA 83
white tesserae become regular,
certain basic technical procedures: identical and, wheremeth-the
ods of preparation of the tesserae foundations; extensive
are set on the diagonal, triangular tesserae
are used atthe
use of lead strips to frame the edges, a standard feature of
decorative these
bands;
use of specially prepared terracotta
Cyrenaican pavements. In the tesserae
northern Hestia- for
black and red. In other technical
torion there are threeaspects,
central white however,
panels, two of
regular tesserae
there is extensive variation, not set only
on the diagonal,
between the middle the
separate mosaics but even within
one of irregular tesserae;the same
all are framed pave-
by a plain
ment. The techniques used black band,include
and the outer area regular tes-
is irregular, with
sellation, tesserae so fine that they may be
another panel of regular tesserae set in front of the classi-
fied as "vermiculatum," and (pl.
threshold irregular
37, figs. 6-7). tesserae, as
well as a type apparently Certain
related featuresto of the Cyrene signinum.
opus mosaics and of
Just as at Delos, different
the similartechniques
mosaic from Euesperides aremay be used
re-
side by side in the same gardedpavement,
as local characteristics,andworkingthe traditionsdif-
ferences in texture thus of thecreated are deliberately
Cyrenaican workshops. When compared
exploited. The irregular tesserae,
with the mosaics fromhowever,
other parts of the differ
Greek
from the chip pavements world, their significance examined:
previously lies principally in the the
stones, of limestone not marble,
variety of techniquesare smaller
which they (gen-
show coexisted.
Particularly
erally ca. 1.5 x 2 cm.) and considerablyimportant is the morefact that irregular
regu-
lar; they are roughly shaped
tesserae appear tesserae, predomi-
in them, at a comparatively early
nantly rectangular, ratherdate, not asthan random
an independent technique, but chip-
as one
used alongside and set
pings. But they are deliberately as an alternative
as irregularlyto regular
as possible to increase the contrast
tessellation; with
the latter technique the been
had already even
areas of regular tessellation.
developed to a fair degree of sophistication.
In all the pavements the In the decorative
light of the above evidence, design
I shall examineis
very simple: a plain whitethe figured
central mosaics field
composed of irregular frag-
framed by
a colored band. In the richest
ments of stone, of them,
which have been regardedfrom as typo- the
house probably to be dated to the between
logically intermediate third pebblecentury,
and true
the band contains a three-dimensional illusionistictessellated mosaics. The most complex of these is
meander and dentils, in a technique approximating the Triton mosaic at Sparta; unfortunately, there
to "vermiculatum"; there are no irregular tesserae is no external evidence, as far as I know, on which
in this floor, but there are in the pavement of the it may be dated (pl. 38, figs. 8-9).3" The pave-
next room, which is surely contemporary.37 Other- ment consists of a series of concentric square bands,
wise, the bands are composed of plain rows of ter- a method of composition which is certainly remi-
racotta tesserae or of very simple patterns. The niscent of pebble mosaics, and which was used
greatest use is made of contrasting textures on the many times at Olynthus. The central panel con-
mosaics from the two Hestiatoria near the Temple tains a Triton, light on a dark green ground,
of Zeus, which are both probably to be placed in within a border of meander. Surrounding it was
the first half of the second century.3" In the south- a frieze of dolphins and sea monsters, white on red,
ern Hestiatorion, the central panel is composed of and then a band of trefoil leaves on a light ground.
irregular white tesserae, framed by colored bands The outer frieze contained various figures of sat-
of plain tesserae and of checkerboard pattern, with yrs, centaurs, horsemen and griffins, and the outer-
an outer edging band of irregular tesserae (pl. 37, most border was of waves. The materials used
fig. 5). Along the edges of the colored band, the are white and green-black stone, and red ceramic

Chrestou, Deltion 19,2 (1964) 136-37, pl. 136; Bruneau, BCH

termini between the end of the fourth century B.C. and A.D. 69,
but which is related in technique to the group under dis-
93 (1969) 326, fig. 20. It is described by Chrestou as being
cussion (StMisc 15 [1969-1970] 55-61). from a Hellenistic house, but without any further details.
37Baldassarre (supra n. 35) nos. I and 2, pp. 193-201,
P1. 38, fig. 8 shows the complete mosaic when first discovered.
figs. 2-6. It is at present broken up into sections and stored in an annex
38 Baldassarre (supra n. 35) nos. 3 and 4, pp. 201-209, of the Museum of Sparta; I am grateful to Dr. G. Steinhauer,
figs. 8-io, 14-17. Ephor of Antiquities at Sparta, for the opportunity to examine
39G.P. Oikonomos, Deltion 4 (1918) 171-76, fig. i; Chr. it there.

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 1979] TECHNIQUE AND MATERIALS 271
fragments, with a maximum diameter
Very similar in technique is the mosaic fromof 2-3 cm
For the most part, they are
the Temple extremely
of Despoina at Lykosoura (pl. 38, irregular
in shape; in the background to
fig. io).40 Here too the
there is aTriton,
centralized design:for in-
stance, their shaping aappears to with
central rectangular panel be completely
a pair of con-
random, and they resemble very
fronted lions surrounded closely
by multiple borders, and the chip
used in the plain chip panelspavements. The
with palmettes flanking the entrance. The Triton
who brandishes a red steering-oar,
palmettes and some of the bordersis in
(a floral silhouett
scroll
with a minimum of interior
enclosed in two bands of wave pattern) belong in is com-
detail, and
posed almost entirely theof random
decorative repertory of pebble and irregular
mosaics; another
white pieces, between border,
which however, contains a crenellation pattern cement
the reddish
which is a common
shows clearly; the acanthus feature of Hellenistic
leaves at his tessel- loins ar
equally irregular. The lated
features
mosaics. The whole floor is composedface
of the of and
anatomical divisions of the chest are,
densely set stone fragments averaging 2-3 cm. in however,
indicated, and piecessize,
of appropriate
and extremely shape ar
irregular in shape, polygonal,
used for them: long thin pieces
wedge-shaped or thinfor
splinters;the eyelids,
no attempt was the
outlines of nose and chin and
made to smooth the
the surface. Herechest markings
too, the kinship
round for the eyes and with nipples (the
the chip mosaics seems evident in latter
the irregu- are ce-
ramic, and are perhaps sections
larity of section, the absenceof amphora
of a smooth surface han-
dles); short square red and
pieces for
the large number the
of pieces mouth. Long
of a splintered
thin white splinters areshape,
alsowhich, used
however, in for the
a few parts hair and
of the pat-
for the ends of the two fish
tern, such tails.
as the waves, The
tend to have figures in
a predomi-
the friezes are much more summary
nantly rectangular form. Unfortunately, itin execution
was not
and lack interior details almost
clear to what entirely.
extent deliberately shaped fragments In the
meander border, however,
were used in thewhere the
two lions, as they geometric
are preserved
design imposed a greater precision,
only in drawings the The
from the original excavation. stones ar
roughly square and are
materialscloser tolimestones,
used were two local true one tesserae
If in composition and subject matter
white, one "rosy-mauve," the pavement
and a yellowish-white
recalls pebble mosaics,
marble;and itthemay
the latter was material used well
for the be de-
rived from them, in technique
porch of the temple and thethere seem
cult image, which sug- to be
grounds for regardinggests it rather
that the fragments may haveas beenintermediat
the waste
between chip pavements
from the and tessellated
working of one or both of these. Again, mosaics
the rudimentary use both of pieces shaped
however, the date, with that of the temple itself, is to sui
their position, and of a series of
much disputed, but more
most recent studiesregular
have placed pieces
in the meander, looks the
like
temple in athetentative
second century B.C., andexperiment
Leh-
to find a way of representing
mann accepts this datewith fragments
for the mosaic; it may, of
stone figured scenes like
therefore,those
be only a littleused in
earlier than the the pebble
mosaics
mosaics. In the absence of evidence for its date,
of Delos.41
however, we cannot exclude
A third example the possibility
of the irregular technique is a that
this pavement may constitute not an early
mosaic at Erythrae, found without any archaeo- ante-
cedent of tessellated mosaic, but undatable
logical context and therefore a conscious
(pl. 38, and
deliberate variation of the
fig. II).42more sophisticated
The design again consists of multiple tech-
nique. borders around a central panel; the principal bor-

40 P.W. Lehmann, "The Technique of the Mosaic at Lyko- and the cult image, see E. LUvy, "Sondages ' Lykosoura,"
soura," Essays in Memory of Karl Lehmann (New York 1964) BCH 91 (1967) 518-45, esp. 518-22, with references to ear-
190-97, figs. 2-3,6,7; B. Leonardos, ArchEph 1899, cols. 43-48, lier literature; and E. Levy and J. Marcade, BCH 96 (1972)
pl. 3 (drawing). 986, 100oo3, who conclude that although the temple is un-
41 Lehmann (supra n. 40) 196-97, with references, for a doubtedly Hellenistic, they are unable to determine whether
probable mid-second century date for the temple. Bruneau, it should be placed in the third or the second century.
BCH 93 (1969) 331 (and 10o67), mistakenly attributes to her 42 S.D. Campbell, "A Hellenistic Mosaic in Erythrae,"
a dating in the mid-third century, although he quotes her Anadolu 17 (1973) 207-209. There is no external evidence
correctly on p. 326. For the problems of dating the temple at all for dating the mosaic; Campbell suggests the mid-third

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 272 KATHERINE M.D. DUNBABIN [AJA 83
extremely
der contains pairs of confronted irregular;
griffins, whitenooninte
black, separated by palmettes, and the
the figures, andother bor-
the only atte
ders consist of triangles,
to waves and plain
the pattern bands.
appears to be in
which
The central square contains outline
a white the petals
lozenge with of
rosettes inside, and sea monsters
used for the in
tailthe outer
of the griffi
corners. The material is thefragments
patterns,ofalocal lime-
device found
stone, black, white, brown a and
number of Hellenistic
terracotta colored, tes
cluding the group from Cyr
all completely irregular. There seem to be no signs
solute
of shaped pieces at any point, proof
either in of
thethe date was
figures
or in the patterns, and the griffinssuggests
strongly and sea monsters
the middle
are executed almost entirely
B.C.45without interior
Possibly de-
even earlier
tail. In the very middle of the mosaic,
temple of Athenawithin the
at Assos.48
white lozenge, was a square patch
of the ofwas
cella black regu-
paved with
lar tesserae. Campbell thinks thatalternately
lozenges, this was a light
later and
repair, and, on the basis of a groove
a band in the
of wave cement,The
pattern.
suggests tentatively that there
nique might
speaks originally
only of "separa
have been an emblema there.43 The examples
white marble, embedded of in
mosaics in mixed technique ment."at Delos and Cyrene
The pieces were abou
show that one cannot rule outoriginally
were the possibility of a
flushed over
deliberate combination of which
different techniques
completely for
filled the jo
the sake of contrasting texture. But the
The drawing ofvery
the sim-
wave pa
ple treatment of the animals onwas
at least thiscomposed
mosaic, andof ir
the total absence of shaped tesserae
roughly in the main
rectangular in the
part of the design, leadvery me to class it
uneven with the The
elsewhere.
Sparta and Lykosoura mosaics, as one on
the restoration ofwhich
the temp
the relationship with the plain chip
paving, to the pavements
mid-fourthis c
most clearly apparent. pally on the basis of a well p
Another irregular mosaic from
first halfa of
housethebeneath
fourth cen
the Asklepieion at Pergamon is more
mosaic.48 useful
This canchron-
of course
ologically (pl. 38, fig. 12)." A wave post
a terminus border sur-
quem; if the
rounds a rectangular panel cepted,containing
the mosaic a would
white pr
rosette in a circle at the center,
survivingvery simple white
irregular mosaic w
doves in the corners, and a strip
Most down the
important sur-irre
of the
viving side with a krater ever,
between aretwo confronted
those from the H
griffins. The size of the fragments
Morgantina isin
not recorded
Sicily, since th
(though they are described as small),
ments appear but
to bethey are da
reliably

century on the basis of the technique, but

46 J.T. Clarke, F.H. it
Bacon, will be
R. Koldewey, argued
Investigations at
in this article that the irregularity of 1902)
Assos (London theI4i, technique
163-64. cannot be
considered grounds for any precise dating
47 The excavators on our
go on to mention "cubespresent
of a bright
knowledge. The animals in the border are described as yellow stone and of a hard-burnt red brick were also found
"winged lions," but the spiky necks to me suggest griffins.
in the vicinity. Their place in the composition cannot now be
4 Campbell (supra n. 42) 207. determined": Clarke et al. (supra n. 46) 163. It is not clear
44 0. Ziegenaus and G. de Luca, AvP Ii,I, Das Asklepieion
whether "cubes" should be taken literally, and if the mosaic
I (Berlin 1968) 28-29, pl. I4,b. contained real tesserae.
45 A small hoard of coins of the first and second quarter of48 Clarke et al. (supra n. 46) 164: "a bronze coin of Gar-
the third century (one coin was disputed, and could be as late
gara, struck during the first half of the fourth century B.C.,
as the third quarter of the century), was found in the room so excellently preserved that we may suppose the mosaic
below the level of the mosaic, though not in the area sealed by
above it to have been laid within one generation at most after
the mosaic itself: Ziegenaus and de Luca (supra n. 44) Io6-
the date of its emission. . .. The restoration of the temple
107. They may well be a foundation deposit, and there seems
. . . seems to have taken place at the time of the greatest po-
no reason to doubt that the mosaic is contemporary with the
litical eminence of Assos, when Aristotle was living as the
building itself. guest of its ruler, the wealthy Hermeias" (i.e. ca. 348-341 B.C.).

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 1979] TECHNIQUE AND MATERIALS 273
the third century B.C.4" Three
lar tesserae: rooms
Ganymede's here had
eyes are almond-shaped
mosaic pavements: i) pieces
a (damaged) panel
with a hole in the center for the iris, with
formed a
griffin framed in meander,
by a small roundandstone; another
single pieces cut towith
shape a
are used for hismeander
wave band and a perspective testicles and some ofaround
his toes; and a
long thinwith
missing center; 2) a panel slivers forma the spines ofin
fillet the eagle's
a bor-
der of vine- or ivy-scroll, and
feathers and a between
the joints large panel
them, the thongs of
of Ganymede's
all-over perspective meander (pl. boots,
39,his eyebrows,
fig. 13);and some3)
other
the
panel with the rape of details."5
Ganymede after which the
house was named, in a borderThe Morgantina Ganymede has little inmean-
of perspective com-
der (pl. 39, fig. 14). The mon with the other
extent irregular figured
to which mosaics ex-
materials
were shaped varies considerably, amined. Compared with the Sparta
both Triton, for the
among
different pavements and within
instance, it differs in a
muchsingle
the same waymosaic.
as the
In all three rooms there Pella pebble mosaics do from those at Olynthus.but
is a white surround,
in i and 2 this is composed In ofin white
one, figures flat silhouette,chips of
limited colors, a ir-
regular material fairly densely
minimum of interiorembedded
detail and composition in in ce-
ment, while in 3 the pieces, centralized friezes;
though in the other, a panel with a in
irregular
size, are more nearly rectangular. Irregular
single scene resembling a picture, and a pursuit tes-
serae are used in room 2 for much of the vine- of pictorial effects with a wide range of shades.
scroll and fillet and for the background of theMoreover, while in the others only the most tenta-
perspective meander, but the white key of thetive shaping of a few of the fragments has been
meander itself is formed of regular squared tes-attempted, here the use of regular squared tes-
serae, which are also used in part of the field serae has reached quite an advanced stage. They
around the fillet. Similarly, in room i, there areare used not only in parts of the meanders, where
regular squared tesserae in the meander and in the geometric framework particularly demands
the background of the panel, as well as irregular regularity, but also in the backgrounds and in the
chips and pieces of terracotta. Finally, in the figures, where the closely set pieces build up a
Ganymede mosaic regular tesserae are used in the continuity impossible to achieve with either chips
meander, in the background, and small tesserae in or pebbles. An experiment of a different sort can
much of the figures, but there is also considerable be seen in the use of the long strips and specially-
use of specially shaped larger pieces. Thus the
shaped pieces, a technique which seems a fore-
key of the meander is formed of long white strips;runner of the later opus sectile. Other houses at
solid triangles of slate are used in the shaded Morgantina which are dated to the same period
background of the meander. The figures are very also contained both regular mosaics and irregular
far from being plain silhouettes, but are treatedtessellation, as well as pavements in other tech-
in a manner closer to painting. Despite the dam-niques, notably opus signinum; one originally in-
age to the upper part of Ganymede and much ofcluded a figured panel, now destroyed.51 The
the eagle, a great deal of carefully rendered detail mosaics of the House of Ganymede are not there-
can be seen in the lower part of Ganymede andfore to be taken as isolated exceptions, but as
his face, and in the wings of the eagle, and a wide examples of the standard form of decoration of
range of shades is used. Here too there are spe-wealthy houses in the town.52
cially shaped pieces, as well as closely set regu- Finally, one or two of the figured mosaics in
49 Phillips (supra n. 4) 243-62, figs. 1-7. For the evidence1962," AIA 67 [1963] 166-68, pl. 35, fig. 13); and the House
for dating ca. 260-250, B.C., see E. Sjoqvist, AJA 64 (1960) of Pappalardo, with a construction date not later than the
131-33. middle of the third century, in which the original excavator
50 See Phillips (supra n. 4) 245, n. 5, for the measurementsin 1886-1887 saw the remains of a figured panel, which had
of the tesserae and pieces of stone: while the tesserae range disappeared by the time of the later excavations, though the
from o.8-1 cm. in the background to ca. 0.5 cm.2 in the figure,borders of meander and guilloche were preserved (Stillwell,
the shaped pieces in the figure and the pattern vary substan-"Excavations at Morgantina 1966," AIA 71 [1967] 247-48).
tially in size. 52The types of mosaics and related techniques used in the
51 The House of the Official, which is probably to be dated western Hellenistic world differ in several respects from those
around 250 B.C. (R. Stillwell, "Excavations at Morgantina in Greece and Asia Minor, and need to be examined with ref-

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 274 KATHERINE M.D. DUNBABIN [AJA 83
Delos approximate in their technique
are somewhat to the
rough andir-
irre
regular mosaics. In the ever,
mosaic of
has the
the Tritoness a q
old-fashioned
setting of marble chips, interrupted
with by several
her light-on-dark silh
chrome,
concentric borders, surrounded with
two extensive
figured inter
panels,
one destroyed, the otherAll containing a Tritoness
that these show, in fact,
der
and a flying Eros (pl. 39, in larger
figs. tesserae
I5-I6)."5 the f
The chips
vary in size accordingpropriate
to theirto position in the
"vermiculatum,"
pavement; the borders are
viously
composed
failsof
to fragments
achieve the sa
They serve
sometimes completely irregular, to emphasize
sometimes more ag
nearly of a regular rectangular
line between form. irregular At two tech
lation
points, however, in the band of cannot
dentils be anddrawn in the pre
Delian mosaicists liked
borders of egg-and-dart around the panels, regu-both to contrast different
lar squared tesserae of techniques
small and size
to attemptare used,
to reproduce in one con-
the
trasting strongly witheffects
the more
proper irregular frag-
to another.56
Intermediate
ments around them. In the infigured
a different sense are the mosaics the
panel,
regularity of the tesserae varies,
which asofdoes
use a mixture the
pebbles and density
tesserae (regu-
with which they are set: lar or scattered
irregular) within theand irregular
same pavement. These
in the background, fairly are no close and than
more homogeneous regular
the irregularinmo-the
saics. The most
figures, and in places (such asdiscussed
the islower
the Triton in the
part of
the Eros) almost exclusively
pronaos of square.
the Temple ofThe Zeus atfigures
Olympia (pl.
are in silhouette, but there is substantially
39, figs. I7-18).5" All that is left of it nowmore is a
detail than in the Sparta panelTriton,
containing a with
swimmingsome shad-
Triton blowing a
ing in the tail of the Tritoness
conch, with an Eros and her
riding on hissea weed
tail, and bor-
skirt, and in the wings dersof the Eros.
of palmettes, Obviously
triangles, and meander, but
the tessellated technique originally
was familiar to the
there was a second maker
panel with a Tri-
of this mosaic, since it toness,
is used and a "Nebenfeld"
in part with
of birds
the and bor-
fish,
der; the irregular technique is in no
alternately light-on-dark andway experi-
dark-on-light, sepa-
mental, but must be usedrated
hereby a for
line ofdeliberate effect.
waves. The figures are white
Bruneau considers it an archaizing
on black, with details in imitation
grey-green, yellow,of and
pebble mosaics;54 I am red.
inclined to see
It is predominantly it mosaic,
a pebble as an- and is
other of the attempts togenerally
varyclassified
contrasting
as such, but intextures
fact chips of
and techniques seen elsewhere atfor
stone are also used Delos.
the coloredNone of
portions. Thus
the hair at
the other figured mosaics and beard
Delos of theareTritonquite
are formed of
so
irregular, but in the Maison
thin streaksdes Masques
of yellow and red set both the
close together.
lozenges with centaurs Inwhich flank
the eye, pieces of whitethe emblema
stone cut to shape are
with Dionysus, and the
fitted panel with
together around ablack
a circular dancing
stone in the
Silenus (?) and a flute player usethe
center. In general, tesserae which
figure is of a crude, rough
erence both to the early pavements of Italy and to those of
unevenly rectangular; however they were set in rows like
Carthage and other Punic settlements. I hope to return to
regular tesserae. In Mosaic 2, moreover, the black stones were
this question later. pebbles, split in half with the cut side exposed. The mosaics
53 Dilos 29, 75, PP. 174-78, figs. 88-91; cf. Bruneau, are BCHnot dated archaeologically; stylistic and iconographic
93 (1969) 326-28. parallels (especially with Delos and Pergamon) point to the
54 DRlos 29, 82. late second or early first century (I. Lavin, in F.K. D6rner, T.
55 Dilos 29, 214, pp. 240-41, figs. 18o-8i; 216, p. 255, Goell,
figs. Arsameia am Nymphaios [Istanbuler Forschungen 23,
196-203. Berlin 1963] 191-96, pls. 46-47, plan 11). The technique here
56 On other irregular mosaics, the technique seems to be a suggests a provincial adaptation of the more sophisticated work
consequence of a rough provincial character, and certainly no of the main Hellenistic centers.
indicator of an early date. At Arsameia on the Nymphaios, 57 W. D6rpfeld and P. Graef, Olympia 2 (Berlin 1892) 1o,
in Commagene, two mosaics were found, one composed of I8o-8I, pl. 105; N. Yalouris, "The Mosaic Pavement of the
multiple concentric borders around a central field showing an Temple of Zeus at Olympia," AAA I (1968) 78-82; drawing
amphora between dolphins and rosettes; the other preserved of its original state in A. Rumpf, Malerei und Zeichnung
only fragments of the borders. The tesserae varied in size from (Munich 1953) 123, figs. 11-12.
1-3 cm. in Mosaic I, up to 4 cm. in Mosaic 2, and were

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 1979] TECHNIQUE AND MATERIALS 275
workmanship, remarkableto a desire in
for contrasting
view textures.
of the At Rhodes, a
impor-
tessellated
tant position it occupies, andpanel with
this a griffin,
has black on white,
sometimes
led to its being dated isvery
set in a surround
early; of pebbles." This recalls thecalls
Lehmann
it "the earliest figural mosaic
common as
use at Delos of anyet
area ofrecovered
either chips
on Greek soil."58 However the recent
or pebbles surrounding investiga-
a panel in tessellatum or
tions by Yalouris have given it
"vermiculatum."63 Theasameterminus
combination, a panel post
quem in about the middle of
of tessellatum withthe third
a surround century
of pebbles, occurs
B.C.;5" at that date highly
in the Iseionsophisticated
at Eretria, for which Bruneau works
(fol-
had been produced in lowing
thePapadakis)
pebble suggests technique,
a date in the second and
some other explanation century
must or the
lie beginning
behind of the first.4
its On other
extraor-
dinary provincialism. The combination
floors, pebbles of of
are used for specific parts pebbles
the
and cut fragments is here surely
figures. This seems to bedue the case to the
with the Nike local
availability of materialsmosaic
andat the
Assos, known
desireonly from
fora drawing
a more
varied color range than
whichcould
gives no cluebe
to theobtained from
technique and from a
brief But
the natural river pebbles. description.65
the Here a central
cut stonescircle shows
around
the eye show also a desire for
two women a greater
weighing precision
Erotes in a balance, within
of form. According to the
a scroll dating
border. Flyinggiven above,
Erotes fill the angles out-the
panel must be contemporary with
side the circle, or
and panels slightly
at either later
side contain two
than the Morgantina mosaic, and and
Nikai bearing offerings therefore
a tripod between the
use of cut stones was them. already known,
The description of the techniqueatruns: least
"The in
Sicily. In that case, the Olympia
ground floor
is of dark gray-green marblemay be an
pieces, the
example of the adaptation figures andof the effects
ornaments of a tes-
standing out in lighter
sellated mosaic to a pebble mosaic,
colors.... The and
stones composing notvary
this mosaic of an
early experimental attempt greatly in size; to
some escape
of the borders from
are of frag- the
limitations of pebbles, before
ments the
over a centimeter invention
square, while the Cupids of
any other technique. are made up of tiny white river pebbles about the
Even more tentative is the
size of a pea."use of consider
The authors cut the pieces
mosaic "a on
a pebble mosaic of a centaur fine specimen inof lateRhodes."o
Greek work," later thanThe the eye
of the centaur and that of the hare he carries are pebble mosaic of griffins also from Assos." The
marked by cut round stones; the rest is of natural description does not make it clear whether the
black and white pebbles. No date is given. Some basic material consists of regular tesserae or of
cut or shaped pieces may also have been includedirregular fragments, though it perhaps suggests the
among the pebbles in the mosaic of a sea horse latter for the borders, nor does it reveal the extent
from the Asklepieion at Lebena, apparently re- to which pebbles are used in the figures. It seems
liably dated to the fourth to third centuries, butmost likely that they are used for a few details,
detailed information on the technique of this pave- perhaps only the Cupids, for which a particular
ment is not at present available."6 fineness was desired. Pebbles are used specifically
On other floors, the method of mixing the tech- to achieve effects of texture on a mosaic from
niques is different, and should be ascribed ratherAlexandria (Shatbi), another instance of much

58 (Supra n. 40) 193; cf. Robinson (supra n. 27) 326-27, 61 G. Porro, Studi Romani 2 (1914) 381, fig. 7 (calling
with references to earlier authorities. it Roman); L. Pernier and L. Banti, Guida degli scavi italiani
59 A cut at the edge of the pavement, which must have been
in Creta (Rome 1947) 70-71, fig. 83, who compare it in
filled up when the mosaic was laid, contained three coins: technique to the Olympia Triton. I am grateful to Mr. Ian
one of the first half of the fourth century, one of 323-251 B.C.,Sanders for information about this mosaic.
and one "approximately dated to the Hellenistic period." 62G. Konstantinopoulos, AAA 6 (1973) 124, fig. 10 (brief
Yalouris therefore dates the filling up of the cut and the account only).
laying of the mosaic to the middle or the second half of the 63 Cf. supra n. I6.
third century (AAA I [1968] 82). 64 N. Papadakis, Deltion I (1915) 126-28, figs. 8,9; Bruneau,
60 G. Konstantinopoulos, Deltion 22, B2 (1967) 526, pl. AntK 12 (1969) 80-82, pls. 37, 38.
384; Bruneau, BCH 93 (1969) 330, n. 2. It belongs to the 65 Clarke et al. (supra n. 46) 119 (fig. 1), 121.
second construction period of the house. 66 Clarke et al. (supra n. 46) 121.

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 276 KATHERINE M.D. DUNBABIN [AJA 83
disputed date." A central of
rectangle
either techniquecontains three
being used for quite ambitious
Erotes hunting a stag within a border
decorated floors of late
at a comparatively ivy date. The
scroll; surrounding is a frieze of animals,
chip pavements real
in their plain form and
go back at
mythological, and then a chain guilloche,
least as far a of
as the first half checker-
the fourth century
band and a surround of plain white Their
B.C. at Olynthus. tesserae. It is
use for designs may be
mainly composed of regular, closely
attested for set century
the mid-fourth tesserae, at Assos, for
but pebbles are used "for the
simple hair,
figures in thethe mane
mid-third of
at Pergamon, but
neither date,
the lion, the tail of the hyena and unfortunately, is absolutely certain.
like details....""
It therefore in no way belongs
However, tothean experimental
Morgantina pavements prove that
stage between pebbles and tesserae,
in Sicily at least notbutonly is
were a irregular
fullymosaics
developed tessellated mosaicknown byusing pebbles
the mid-third century, only
but the tessel-
to exploit a particular effect. Brown considers this
lated technique had already been developed, and
work neo-classical, accepting
the CyreneBreccia's
pavements show dating of
the co-existence in
ca. 50 B.C. to A.D. 50.69 Ithisknow ofGreek
part of the few certain
world at a slightly later
examples among mosaics for date of the revival
irregular tessellation,or
used imita-
deliberately for
tion of an earlier methodeffect,
of andcomposition, such The
of floors of regular tesserae. as regu-
she postulates for the frieze of animals
lar mosaics around
did not oust the
the irregular chip pave-
rectangular panel resembling those
ments, and of Olynthus;
the regularity of the pieces used did
but certainly no argumentvary
for an earlier
considerably within dating can
one pavement. Presuma-
be based on the technique alone.
bly the The taste marble
choice of material-pebbles, for chips,
contrasting effects which it displays
fragments of stone-wasseems to be
normally dictated by eco-
similar to that seen on many of theand
nomic considerations mosaics of Of the
local availability.
Delos, although there is nomixed
exact parallel
mosaics, there
the Olympia for
Triton does show a
these specific effects.70 transition from the pebble technique to the tessel-
The irregular and mixedlated,
mosaics do
in the sense of not form
using cut a
pieces where they
homogeneous group, and could
cannotcontribute
beanfitted
effect not neatly
to be achieved in
into a schematic account of thethe
pebbles: evolution of for
date now proposed Greek
this floor sug-
mosaics. The conclusions which can be drawn gests, however, that it may itself be influenced by
from them are largely negative. In the first place,
regular or irregular tessellated mosaics, rather than
the technique by itself cannot be used as grounds
representing an invention. If the centaur mosaic
for dating. There is no orderly sequence fromfrom Rhodes and the Lebena mosaic did make a
one technique to the other; they were used similar
con- use of shaped pieces, then the combination
temporaneously until late in the Hellenisticofpe-
pebbles and artificial fragments for particular
riod, and there are sporadic examples of both peb-
parts of the figures, or to supply colors otherwise
ble mosaics and chip pavements even from lacking,
the may not have been an uncommon varia-
Empire.7 Of course the growing popularitytion,
of but it does not appear (on our present evi-
tessellated mosaic eclipsed the simpler methods,
dence) to constitute an independent phase in the
which tended to be used for plain floors or in less
development. In the other mixed mosaics, the mix-
important positions, but they do not disappear
ture of materials was aimed at exploiting the dif-
completely, and we cannot rule out the possibility
ference in texture, and represents a much more
67 B.R. Brown, Ptolemaic Paintings and Mosaics (Cam-
from the same building: one was of plain white tesserae, the
bridge, Mass. 1957) 50, pp. 68-69, 77-81, pl. 44,1. other of mixed pebbles and chips of greyish stone and marble
68 Brown (supra n. 67) 69. (evidently without any design): Brown (supra n. 67) 69. They
69 Brown (supra n. 67) 77, following Breccia, BSRAA too 19
suggest a mingling of effects like those found on Delos.
(1923) 161; the date is based on the use of the Shatbi district
71 For late examples of pebble mosaics see Bruneau, BCH 93
as a cemetery, making it unlikely that a house would be con- 308-22; add a pebble mosaic from Thasos dated to the
(1969)
first half of the first century A.C.: B. Holtzmann and 0.
structed there earlier than the beginning of the first century
B.C., and on the terminus ante quem of a Roman road of the BCH 98 (1974) 792, fig. 5. Chip pavements in houses
Picard,
second century A.C., three m. above the house. For arguments
in Athens, dating from the first century B.C. to the early
for an earlier date, see Robertson, JHS 85 (1965) 86-87. third century A.C.: R. Young, Hesperia 20 (1951) 277-78,
70 Two other floors in the neighborhood apparentlypl. came
85.

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 1979] TECHNIQUE AND MATERIALS 277
treatment
sophisticated stage. It is of the figure panel as hypothesis
an attractive a picture rather
than an all-overwas
that the tessellated technique design, developed
and the method of shad- from
ing and outlining
the chip pavements through the figures. Instead
the gradual of allowing
introduc-
tion, first of color andtime simple
between them for the evolution of tessellated
designs, then of
mosaic parts,
shaped pieces for specific from pebble, but
perhaps the
the Pella evidence
Stag Hunt,
to prove it is lacking. for example, should be brought down to a date
close to the Morgantina
There is undoubtedly reciprocal mosaic on the
influence grounds
among
the different techniques insimilarities.
of these designs, compositions,
None of these questions, how-
and treatment of figures,72
ever, can be answered
and atit present.
may Nothingbebut that
a
parallels in this respect are
greater valid
number of datedfor
examplesdating
will allow us topur-
poses. Thus the Spartafollow
Tritonthe evolution
may of mosaics
bein compared
both style and
technique in the
with the Olynthus pebble mosaics in both period between the destruction
com-
of Olynthus and the late
position and handling of the detail in the figures; second century B.C.
it is tempting to associate it with them in date,
DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS
especially since of all the irregular mosaics it is the
MCMASTER UNIVERSITY
one where shaped pieces are almost entirely absent.
HAMILTON, ONTARIO
On the other hand, the Morgantina Ganymede
and the Pella mosaics have in common both the CANADA L8S 4M2

72There are also parallels in technique, such as the use of

1963] 317), and in the mosaic of a hunter from Alexandria
lead strips to outline figures or patterns, used in pebble (Brown [supra n. 67] 51, p. 69, pl. 44, 2), as well as in
mosaics at Pella, in the centaur at Rhodes (supra n. 6o), many
at tessellated mosaics, both regular and irregular.
Cherson (A. Vostchinina, La Mosaique Grico-Romaine [Paris

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 DUNBABIN PLATE 37

FIG. i. Delos, chip pavement FIG. 2. Delos, Theatre District, House III Q, panel o
tessellatum surrounded by chips

FIc. 3. Delos, Theatre District, House III N, mosaic of

combined tessellatum and chip techniques

FIG. 4. Euesperides, irregular mosaic.

(Courtesy M. Vickers)

FI. 5-. Cyrene, southern

Hestiatorion, central panelFIG. FIc. 7. Cyrene, northern
and 6. Cyrene, northern Hestia-
border. (Courtesy torion, central area. (Courtesy
Hestiatorion, detail. (Courtesy
I. Baldassarre) I. Baldassarre) I. Baldassarre)

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PLATE 38 DUNBABIN

47,:

4:1

.t ?

7r' P-7"

~:~ur la ~?gg ~ ~ n~8~II~8;~;$Ba~rt~ll~;. I-Odraii

JI'Illllll

Nor" m;

Fic. 8. Sparta, Triton Mosaic. (Co

40k

41k

...tv

IIth

Oili

FIG. I I. Erythrae, irregular mosaic

Fic. 12. Pergamon, House beneat

Ziegenaus
FIG. 9. Sparta, Triton mosaic, and
central G. De Luca, AvP
panel
[Berlin 1968] pl.14,b)

FIG. Io. Lykosoura, irregular mosaic.

(Courtesy Mrs. P. W. Lehmann)

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 DUNBABIN PLATE 39

FIG. 13. Morgantina, House of Ganymede, fillet

FIG. 14. and
Morgantina, House of Ganyme
Ganymede. (Photo Princeton Art Muse
maeander. (Photo Princeton Art Museum)

FIG.Mosaic
FIG. 15. Delos, House of the Tritons, 16. Delos,
of Mosaic of Tritoness, detail
Tritoness, detail of central panel

FIG. 17. Olympia, Temple of Zeus, FIG. I8. mosaic,

Triton Olympia, Temple of Zeus, Trit
detail of Triton. (After W. D6rpfeld detail
and of border. (After W. D6rpfeld an
P. Graef,
Olympia 2 [Berlin 1892] pl. 105) Olympia 2 [Berlin 1892] pl. 105)

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