In 1897, Spanish geographer Francisco Coello reported the existence of Roman ruins, with tesserae, in the district of Noheda. But the 291 square meter figural mosaics in the triclinium of the Late Period Roman Villa were not formally documented until 1984 when a local peasant plowing a field belonging to José Luis Lledó Sandoval stumbled over the stones. Even then, archaeological excavations did not begin until the end of 2005. The villa, which lies about 17 km north of Cuenca near the ruins of the ancient cities of Segóbriga , Ercávica and Valeria, was finally opened to the public in 2019. The interpretation center has been established in Villar de Domingo Garcia.
The obviously wealthy owner may have profited from the mining of lapis specularis, a variety of translucent gypsum much appreciated at the time for the manufacture of window glass. Pliny the Elder mentions this material was mined in "100,000 places around Segóbriga" and Pliny assures us that "the most translucent of this stone is obtained near the city of Segóbriga and extracted from deep wells".
The mosaic of the triclinium consists of six panels with mythological and allegorical scenes: the myth of Oenomaus, Pelops and Hypodamia, two pantomimes, the judgment of Paris and the abduction of Helena, the Dionysian courtship and a marine Thiasos (procession of Dionysus). It is presently considered the largest surviving mosaic from the Roman Empire. On average 1243 tesserae were used in each 25X25 square centimeters of the work.
Later excavations revealed the site included a complex of private thermal baths as well. Researchers have identified more than 30 types of marble used in its construction.
Images: I have tried to select the best images I could find although the site needs to be photographed by someone like Carole Raddato or Marie-Lan Nguyen. (I'm afraid my overseas travel days are pretty much at an end). My university has also not registered their Shibboleth license with Cambridge Core so I couldn't access the main article that originally appeared in the Journal of Roman Archaeology in 2013. As indicated, here in the US, images of ancient 2-dimensional artwork are considered "slavish copies" so therefore in the public domain.
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| Mosaic depicting the myth of Oenomaus and the chariot race with Pelops in the triclinium of the Roman Villa at Noheda (PD in US) |
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| Mosaic depicting the myth of Oenomaus and the chariot race with Pelops in the triclinium of the Roman Villa at Noheda (PD in US) |
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| Severed heads depicted in the mosaic of the Roman Villa at Noheda (Spain) (PD in US) |
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| Boxers in the triclinium mosaic of the Roman Villa at Noheda (Spain) (PD in US) |
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| Three panels of the triclinium mosaic in the Roman villa at Noheda (Spain) - bottom panel: the life of Paris and abduction of Helen, the middle panel: Dionysian procession (PD in US) |
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| Detail of Dionysian courtship panel of the mosaic in the triclinium of the Roman vill at Noheda (Spain) (PD in US) |
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| Mosaic depicting the myth of Oenomaus and the chariot race with Pelops in the triclinium of the Roman Villa at Noheda (PD in US) |
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| Detail of a pantomime scene in the mosaic of the Roman Villa at Noheda (Spain) (PD in US) |
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| Closeup of panel depicting the life of Paris in the mosaic of the Roman Villa at Noheda (Spain) |
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| Mosaic depicting the myth of Oenomaus and the chariot race with Pelops in the triclinium of the Roman Villa at Noheda (PD in US) |
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| Panel depicting the life of Paris and abduction of Helen in the mosaic of the triclinium of the Roman Villa at Noheda (PD in US) |
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| Marine Thiasos in the triclinium of the Roman Villa in Noheda (PD in US) |
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| Detail of a pantomime scene in the mosaic of the Roman Villa at Noheda (Spain) (PD in US) |
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