The mosaic of the horses is a Roman-era mosaic, approximately twelve meters by nine, discovered in 1960 at the archaeological site of Carthage, in present-day Tunisia, near the enigmatic monument known as the building with columns. It was later moved to the archaeological park of the Roman villas, near the so-called "Aviary Villa."
The mosaic is a checkerboard alternating between small figurative panels—mostly representations of horses—and geometric compositions. This "rich iconographic catalog [is] so far unparalleled," according to Azedine Beschaouch.
The combination of mosaic and opus sectile, along with its original theme, makes it one of the most interesting works uncovered at the site in the 20th century. However, it poses questions for specialists regarding its precise dating, inspiration, and influence beyond Africa, as some details are also found in the mosaics of the Roman villa of Casale in Sicily.
History of the discovery
The mosaic was discovered during roadworks in late November 1960, when Tunisian workers widening the road between La Malga and the presidential palace of Carthage uncovered a large structure at the foot of the Hill of Juno. Historian Gilbert Charles-Picard referred to this structure as a "palace" due to its extensive mosaics. The building, located a few meters downhill from another structure with columns, was in a deteriorated condition.
Due to the construction work, excavations could not be conducted satisfactorily, resulting in an incomplete understanding of the discovery site. In general, the topography of Roman Carthage remains insufficiently known, despite a theoretical grid, established primarily through the work of Charles Saumagne. The city was divided into urban blocks measuring 142 meters by 35.50 meters, reconstructed from the overall layout of the site.
Difficulties in dating
Due to the urgency of the roadworks, archaeologists were unable to conduct a thorough study of the ruins. The heritage department promptly removed the mosaics and placed them in the antiquarium within the park of the Roman villas. The construction has been dated to the 4th century by Charles-Picard, around the year 300 by Ennaïfer, and to the 5th century by Abdelmajid Ennabli.
Alexandre Lézine and Louis Foucher studied the structure, and the mosaic became the subject of a monograph in 1965 by the Dutch scholar Jan Willem Salomonson, whose work revealed the meaning of the piece. The discovery context is complicated by difficulties in interpreting the nearby building with columns, although Salomonson noted constructions between that structure and the house where the mosaic was found. Several mosaics were discovered simultaneously: the fountain mosaic depicts, in a semicircle, two cupid-like fishermen named Navigius and Naccara, lifting a fishing net; they are in two boats.
Navigius has a tattoo in the middle of his forehead, a type of marking that, according to Salomonson, can be dated to a period ranging from the late 3rd to the mid-4th century. In the background, the scene includes a landscape with waves depicted as zigzags, along with fish and a duck. The work, which shares similarities with a mosaic from Hadrumetum preserved at the Louvre Museum, is dated by Salomonson to 300 AD. The peristyle yielded mosaics featuring amphitheater scenes, framed by braided garlands within hexagonal panels, depicting characters and animals in medallions on the theme of games. The same site also produced fragments of a remarkable hunting scene mosaic, set in a wooded and mountainous landscape, framed by acanthus scrolls and birds. According to Salomonson, this work is considered "of paramount importance within the series [...] of African-origin hunting mosaics".
Their respective locations were studied by Salomonson. The house was named the “House of the Horses” due to the site's primary discovery. It featured a peristyle with a fountain and a grand reception hall, considered the main triclinium of the residence. A second triclinium, adorned with a mosaic of the Seasons, also depicting Venus at her toilette, a Genius, Pan, a Cupid, and servant women, was initially thought to be connected to the residence. However, Salomonson expressed serious doubts about this association, a hypothesis later definitively dismissed by René Rebuffat.
Description
General description and materials
The mosaic measures 12.12 m by 9.08 m. A 90 cm border, decorated with hunting children, surrounds the chessboard-like mosaic, which consists of 198 squares arranged in 18 rows of 11.
These 60 cm-wide squares alternate between tessellated panels (opus musivum) and panels made of opus sectile. The combination of these two techniques within the same work is highly unusual, though, according to Salomonson, it is linked to the late period of its creation. The mosaic panels, featuring 12 to 18 tesserae per linear decimeter, are made from marble, limestone, and colored glass paste. Among the identified marbles, the only confirmed types are yellow marble from Chemtou and white-pink veined marble, which, according to Lézine, may have originated from Thuburbo Majus.
Border
The outer border consists of three bands featuring various motifs related to the theme of venationes (beast hunts) in the amphitheater, although this theme is not depicted realistically.
Children are portrayed as bestiarii (beast hunters), and harmless animals replace the usual wild beasts. The artist demonstrates "a certain sense of humor and fantasy." The children on the border, wearing protective bandages on their knees and ankles, hunt small animals such as ducks, geese, small panthers, jerboas, and cats, while some attempt to lasso birds. Others carry short hunting javelins. Five complete child figures have been preserved, along with four partial ones.
Their round faces are quite similar, matching "a type of childlike physiognomy widely represented in Roman art from the last quarter of the 3rd century to the early 4th century AD." This style of representation can also be found in the Casale mosaic. The landscape features ears of wheat, flowers, fruits, baskets, birds, and hares. Partially preserved winged Cupids appear, facing an antelope.
Geometric panels
The opus sectile panels are made of thin slabs of marble in various colors and shapes.
This technique was widely used during the Late Roman Empire, both in Africa and in other regions of the Roman Empire. According to Salomonson, three geometric patterns are present in these panels: "inscribed tiles whose sides are parallel to the frame," "tilted squares with sides aligned to the diagonals," and "inscribed circles." These panels were restored in antiquity, which radically altered their original appearance.
Figurative panels
The mosaic panels originally numbered 90, of which 62 have been partially or entirely preserved. Ennaïfer and Beschaouch mention 61 fully or partially preserved figurative panels. Following Salomonson, Beschaouch estimates the total number of mosaic panels at 98, with one hundred panels composed of opus sectile marble slabs.
The mosaic panels are very fine and of high quality, with some described as "authentic masterpieces" by Mohamed Yacoub. Darmon suggests that different artisans worked on different sections, with some executing the victorious horses and others handling the mythological scenes, which were crafted using very small tesserae.
The mosaic also exhibits ancient repairs using opus sectile or plain, undecorated marble.
The theme of circus games dominates the opus musivum panels of the artwork, a motif widely used in Africa in both public and private spaces. Most panels depict racehorses, while a few portray figures associated with the circus, all enclosed within a serrated frame.
All secondary representations in the panels aim to help the viewer identify the horse’s name through a rebus system, though Darmon notes that "the reading is never unambiguous."
Equine representations
Arranged in five columns, the panels nearly all depict racehorses prepared for a circus race, wearing a collar inscribed with the full or abbreviated name of the owner. Fifty-six panels display portraits of Barb breed horses, while five depict sparsores (water-sprinklers) or aurigae (charioteers). The horses are positioned facing left or right, almost all in a similar stance—head turned back, right foreleg raised—and are harnessed, plumed, ribboned, and adorned with phalerae collars.
Sometimes, the owner's name appears on the horse’s rump or shoulder, with abbreviations reminiscent of Latin epigraphy. The horses' names are inferred from the overall composition of the panel in a sort of rebus, as identified by Salomonson. However, the study of these panels has not yielded names for every horse, and some identifications remain controversial. A particularly debated panel features a table with twelve circles, leading to various interpretations. The horse's flank bears the inscription "SAP," while a young man stands in front of the steed.
Salomonson declines to interpret the panel. The most accepted analysis is that of Claude Nicolet, who suggests that the twelve circles represent a number of victories, an interpretation supported by Beschaouch as the only satisfactory explanation, allowing the horse to be named Polystefanus (literally "crowned multiple times" in Greek). The horse panels are further embellished with one or two human figures, and in some cases, a complete scene accompanies the horse.
The decorations related to horses are categorized into six groups by Charles-Picard: divinities, personifications, mythological scenes, daily life, games, and other characters unrelated to horses. Salomonson groups them into four categories: the divine world, myths, professions, and a final group including elements that do not fit into the first three. According to Ennaïfer, the complementary scenes represent "the great originality of this document."
Among the unclassifiable panels, one depicts a farewell scene: a young man carrying luggage is leaving a bearded man seated on a rock. Even the author of the first monograph on the subject acknowledges the difficulty of identifying this episode.
Representations of characters
Among the relatively well-preserved representations of deities, one panel depicts Jupiter with his attributes (scepter and lightning bolt) with a horse named M.P.V. in the background. Another portrays Neptune holding a trident, in front of a horse belonging to a man named Simpli. A third panel possibly represents the god Mars.
Other panels include representations of Victoria, Genius, Pan, and Attis. Additionally, there is a personification of Carthage and a personification of absolute time, described as "without beginning or end, unfolding eternally with the movement of celestial bodies," depicted as a young man holding a hoop with zodiac signs.
One panel possibly represents the legend of the twins Romulus and Remus accompanied by the Roman she-wolf, with a gray horse in the foreground inscribed ADVEN. Another panel depicts Aeneas fleeing Troy with his father Anchises, with a horse in the background named ALAFI.
The myth of Daedalus and Icarus appears on two panels: one shows Icarus taking flight, leading to his fall, while the other portrays Daedalus in his workshop, working on a model of the cow intended for Pasiphaë.
Four panels are identified by Salomonson as linked to the myth of Hercules: one depicting his fight against Geryon, another featuring the Ceryneian Hind. A third panel shows Hercules on a rock holding a cup and a club, while the last, partially preserved, depicts Hercules drunk with a satyr. According to Darmon, the panel of Hercules on a rock should instead be interpreted as the Cyclops Polyphemus, as the figure has a third eye on the forehead. The absence of Odysseus does not contradict this identification, as representations of the Cyclops alone were common.
The mosaic also includes a representation of Danaë receiving Jupiter's golden rain, as well as a scene of Lycurgus cutting a vine, after Bacchus transformed the Maenad Ambrosia. A fragmentary panel depicts Achilles being dipped into the Styx.
Some heavily damaged panels have been identified by specific details. For instance, Orpheus is recognized by his Phrygian cap and lyre. The myth of the abduction of the Argonaut Hylas belongs to this category, as does a panel showing Narcissus gazing at his reflection. Another panel features a helmeted and armed Amazon.
Other panels remain difficult to identify despite being in good condition. For instance, Salomonson hesitates between interpreting one battle scene as Eteocles and Polynices or the Dioscuri. Another panel depicts a figure wearing a Phrygian cap and holding a whip, likely Pelops, while another may represent Odysseus. Sometimes, identification is challenging due to the lack of specific attributes.