Bavay, the Antic Bagatum, was the capital of the Nervii, a tribe of Belgian Gauls which almost defeated Caesar at the battle of the Sabis.
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| The South Wall of Fortifications. |
Bagatum was located at the intersections of 7 Roman roads joining many parts of Western and Northern Gaul to Southern Germany.
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| Roman Roads of Northern Gaul, 1st century AD. |
It was an important political, strategic and economical town and Rome built there an impressive Forum, the biggest ever been excavated in France.
The archaeologists revealed exquisite mosaic art decorating public and private buildings laid in precious and very accurate geometric patterns.
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| fragment of mosaic and individual tesserae. |
2 major mosaic floors were excavated in 1955 and 1959.
The Grande Rue mosaic came from the forum itself.
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| The Grande Rue Mosaic in Bavay |
Its superb arrangement of 10 mm (3/8") black and white tesserae was laid in patterns of meanders and svastiska on one side and lobelled circles on the other side.
The Louvignies mosaic covering the floor of a private villa was expertly laid on top of an Hypocaust - the Roman version of Central Heating much needed during the winters of Northern Gaul.
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| Fragment of the Louvignies Mosaic in Bavay, France |
At 5 mm (3/16") the Louvignies tesserae are much smaller than the Grande Rue ones.Their five colors are Black, White, Orange, Yellow and Grey.
Most of what is left of this bright mosaic are geometric patterns of Rectangles, Losanges, Octagons and Meanders.
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| Square angles in the Louvignies Mosaic Art. |
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| Lozanges in the Louvignies mosaic art. |
But I believe several portraits were originally part of it.
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| Detail of the Louvignies Mosaic, possible portrai. |
The mosaic was originally 7 x 7 m (500 square feet). Although only about 20 % of it are left and it was built with 5 colors only, the Louvignies Mosaic is absolutely GORGEOUS !
So the next time you consider designing a mosaic, and believe you need many different nuances, try to remember our Greek and Roman ancestors were able to work wonders with 2 or 5 colors....
Frederic Lecut is a French mosaicist.
In 1992 he made Alabama his home.
His Art is about inspiring People.
You can contact him either
by phone at (334) 798 1639 or email at
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Fabulous!
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