Floor decoration of villa maritima in Dragonera south
OBJECT
OBJECT
Definition
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mosaic floor
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Identification
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part of the decorative complex
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Name/Dedication
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Floor decoration of villa maritima in Dragonera south
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Position
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Mosaic in room in east wing, construction from 1. to 4. centuries (Flavian building).
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Description
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The property in which the mosaic is located is part of the Dragonera south site; Dragonera north site. It was a large Antique Period complex which was continuously inhabited from the 1st to the 7th centuries. The complex has been defined as a residential homestead (villa maritima) with an olive processing facility. Dragonera south is the better preserved part of the site, and the floor decoration of the villa from the first building period has been preserved in fragments, but well enough to make assumptions about an expensively equipped building. The mosaic in the room of the east wing of the villa is from the building phase of the 1st to the 4th centuries (Flavian building). The villa was later upgraded and rebuilt, so the floor mosaics from the earliest phase were mostly intersected with partition walls that were built later. The first restoration followed in the 4th century, after a fire, and continuous habitation can be determined up until to the next big fire in the 7th century. Considering its size, the east room with the mosaic most probably served as social hall (oecus).
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SUBJECT
SUBJECT
Identification
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Dragonera south, floor decoration mosaic of room in east wing of an Antique Period complex (villa maritima)
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Iconographic description
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The mosaic covered the larger room of the east wing, and basically its composition is simple. There is a large white rectangular segment bordered by a frame made of a black outer and inner edge, and a two strand braid in the middle, and executed in the black and white technique (STARAC A. 2010, pp. 40-41).
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Iconological description
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A two strand braid as a border for the central segment is a frequent motif in Antique Period floor mosaics from the Augustan period to the 3rd century (STARAC A. 2010, pp. 40-41).
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GEOGRAPHICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LOCATION
Country
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Croatia
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City
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Peroj
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Locality
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Dragonera
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SPECIFIC LOCATION
Typology
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villa
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Qualification
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villa maritima
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Denomination
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Villa maritima in Dragonera
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Monumental complex the catalogued object belongs to
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Villa maritima Dragonera south
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Address
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Dragonera north and Dragonera south (cadastral plot 19/27 cadastral municipality Peroj, cadastral plot 18/278 and 19/17 cadastral municipality Peroj)
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Specific location
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Mosaic in east wing of room in villa (oecus)
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LOCATION AND PROPERTY DATA
Original location
METHOD OF FINDING
Type of finding
INFORMATIONS ON FINDING
Denomination of archaeological site
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Dragonera South
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Management of the work
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Archaeological Museum of Istria
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Those who did the work
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Starac, Alka
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Date
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02/06/2003 – 30/09/2003 and 13/09/2004 – 08/12/2004
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Other informations
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During the clearing of vegetation for the purposes of construction of a tourist complex, the archaeological remains of an Antique Period site were found.
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CHRONOLOGY
GENERAL CHRONOLOGY
SPECIFIC CHRONOLOGY
From
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1. century
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post
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To
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4. century
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Validity
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ante
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bibliography
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STARAC, ALKA Dragonera : Dva Bisera
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CULTURAL DEFINITION
AUTHOR
Name
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Italic itinerant workers
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Personal data/chronology
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1. century - 4. century
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Grounds of basing the dates
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stylistic analysis
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COMMISSIONER
Notes
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Villa Maritima, which was a property of the duumviri quinquennales of the Pula colony, occupied the whole bay. The villa also included a homestead complex, a mooring and a production unit, and the construction is dated to the period between the years of 70 and 90 of the 1st century. There are also the writings of Cassiodorus dating from 537-538 with a description of the properties including the one in Dragonera.
The cultural context is the Early Imperial Period and the way of constructing and decorating luxury properties. The descriptions of Cassiodorus help with definitions.
In his writings about rural complexes by the sea, like Dragonera, Cassiodorus specifies a series of data, for example he calls them praetoria, in which high officials live, and such properties were independent and closed units.
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SUPPORT
SUPPORT
Typology
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fixed
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Material
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lime flooring
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SUBGRADES
SUBGRADES
Reference to the part
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entire floor mosaic
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LAYER
Color of the whole
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beige
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Nature of the mixture
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lime binder
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Aggregate
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sand, gravel, ground brick
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TESSERAE
TESSERAE MATERIAL
Material
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stone, marble
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Color
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black, white
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Typology
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artificial
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Use method
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The mosaic is arranged in more simple ways.
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TECNIQUE
TECNIQUE
Denomination
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mosaic work
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Method
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direct
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SIZES OF ARTWORK
SIZES OF ARTWORK
Unit of measurement
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cm
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Width
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870
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Depth
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7
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Length
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670
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PRESERVATION STATUS & RESTORATION
PRESERVATION STATUS
Date
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2003-2004
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Reference to the part
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mosaic floor
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Description
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The mosaic has been primarily conserved and bound, and lastly covered in geotextiles and sand.
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RESTORATION
Date
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2003-2004
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Responsible institution
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Archaeological Museum of Istria
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Management of the work
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Archaeological Museum of Istria
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Those who did the work
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Aldo Monfardin; Josip Ferri
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Description
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The mosaic has been washed and its edges bound with cement mortar.
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DOCUMENTARY & INFORMATIVE SOURCES
IMAGES
Floor decoration of villa maritima in Dragonera south
IMAGES
Dragonera south, floor decoration mosaic of room in east wing of an Antique Period complex (villa maritima)
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