In the Footsteps of Aeneas: Movement and Narrative in Fourth Century Romano-British Mosaics

Abstract

Two fourth century Romano-British villa owners commissioned mosaics that draw upon Vergil’s first century BC epic, the Aeneid. The pavements at Lullingstone and Low Ham have been interpreted as evidence of erudite villa owners demonstrating their knowledge of the Roman classics. An iconographical analysis of these mosaics tells only one part of the story. In this article, I analyze the fourth century AD mosaics at Lullingstone and Low Ham through a phenomenological lens, centering the embodied Roman-era viewer. At Lullingstone, an inscription from the Aeneid in the villa’s main reception hall appeals to the seated, static viewer and makes a social distinction between the owner’s invited guests, who alone have the proper vantage to read it, and anyone else in the room. Meanwhile, scenes from the Aeneid in the frigidarium mosaic at Low Ham indicate the direction a viewer should move through the space, ultimately circumnavigating the room. By applying a sensory framework to these two case studies, I demonstrate the role of narrative in mosaics and how it structured a viewer’s experience of Roman social spaces.