Rare Roman mosaic found on farm in Great Britain

When pandemic lockdowns in Great Britain kept people at home in 2020, a farmer’s family rambles across his fields resulted in an unusual find from the days when the Roman Empire’s reach stretched all the way to England — ancient pottery. Now, archaeologists have unearthed a Roman mosaic under the farm in East Midlands.

In a press release, the National Historic Archive said that this is the first time a mosaic of this kind has been uncovered in 1,600 years.

“Finding some unusual pottery amongst the wheat piqued my interest and prompted some further investigative work,” said Jim Irvine, who first discovered the rare mosaic on his father’s land, in the press release from the National Historic Archive.

“Later, looking at the satellite imagery I spotted a very clear crop mark as if someone had drawn on my computer screen with a piece of chalk! This really was the ‘oh wow’ moment, and the beginning of the story.”

The artwork depicts the Greek hero Achilles’ battle with Hector during the Trojan war.

The mosaic is about 36 feet long and 30 feet wide.

Historians believe the mosaic dates back to the third or fourth century.

Also found on the site were human remains dating back to the late Roman or early medieval period.

By Sarah Dewberry, The Denver Channel.