The richly-decorated Roman mosaic became a real surprise for the pipe laying workers in the Swiss town of Avenches, the canton of Vaud said in a statement. The modern technological works have led to the discovery of a beautiful and highly detailed Roman mosaic.
The discovered mosaic is measuring 1.55 metres squared, the archaeological discovery will be cleaned on site before being moved to the Roman Museum in Avenches. The ancient mosaic features a border of yellowish stone tiles known as tesserae while the central section shows a ‘cantharus’ drinking vessel upon which two birds are perched.
The floor tiling was found in a little-explored section on the outer edges of the Roman settlement of Aventicum. Founded around 15BC, Aventicum became the capital of Roman Switzerland after the conquest of territory previously held by the tribe known as the Helvetii.
Remains of the colony’s amphitheatre, which could hold up to 16,000 people, a theatre and the so-called Cigognier, or stork, temple can still be visited today. The Roman museum is housed in a five-story medieval tower and displays Roman objects from Aventicum.
Perhaps the most famous of those finds is a gold bust the emperor Marcus Aurelius which was found at some point during the late 1930s and 1940s. Unfortunately, only a copy is on display in the museum as the original is considered too valuable.
The archaeologists uncovered evidence of Roman culture, including graves and the remains of houses, which was founded around 15BC. Pipe laying work at the site has been suspended so archaeologists can carry out their work.
