Tesserae
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These tesserae would have been part of a pattern in a Roman floor mosaic, and were crafted from blue lias limestone (dating to the early Jurassic Period, some 195 million years ago, the closest source of which is at Knowle).
Found at Brislington Roman villa site during the development of what is now Winchester Road in December 1899. The villa is contemporary with several others in the region, built about AD 270 as a working farm with workshops until destroyed by fire about AD 370.
Photographs exhibited with kind permission of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, which has this in its collection (reference number Fb7135).
Material: stone
Period: Romano-British
Find spot: Winchester Road, Brislington. ST 616709
Exhibit contributed by Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
Text written by Dawn Witherspoon (2012) & Ken Taylor (2017)
Photographer: Ken Taylor
Acquisition number: 120316d1