Medusa Mosaics Uncovered in Italy

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA—Live Science reports that two mosaics were unearthed in niches cut into a circular room in central Italy’s Villa of the Antonines by a team of researchers led by Timothy Renner and Deborah Chatr Aryamontri of Montclair State University. The villa was used by members of the Roman Empire’s Antonine dynasty, who ruled from A.D. 138 to 193. Emperor Commodus, who ruled from A.D. 177 to 192, may have had an amphitheater at the site for gladiator practice. The site has been heavily damaged by looting, dumping, and war, the researchers explained. The room where the mosaics were found measures about 69 feet in diameter, and is thought to be situated in a residential area of the villa. Both mosaics have been dated to the second century A.D. and show the head of Medusa, the Greek mythological figure whose hair was made of snakes. No mosaics have been found in the room’s other two niches. The chamber may have been used as a reception room, although Chatr Aryamontri and Renner are not sure if it had a roof. To read about mosaic uncovered at a Roman villa near Verona, go to "Missing Mosaics."