Dr Pat Witts

Dr Pat Witts

@wittspat.bsky.social

Specialist in Roman mosaics, with particular interests in iconography and antiquarian illustrations; also hedgehogs in any medium. Author. Membership Secretary asprom.org (posting personally).

1.9K followers56 following4.6K posts

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

Interesting video. Cutting the tesserae is relaxingly meditative.

King's Classics@kingsclassics.bsky.social

We're looking forward to our students working with @butserancientfarm.co.uk - will post more soon. In May, KCL students were guided by Dr Will Wootton and mosaic artist Giulia Vogrig to create the new mosaic for Butser's Roman villa! #MosaicMonday youtu.be/ZIiGVxccU7c

youtu.beMaking the corridor mosaic at Butser Ancient FarmIn May 2026, a team led by Will Wootton and Giulia Vogrig created a new mosaic for the twenty-three-metre-long corridor of the Roman villa at Butser Ancient Farm (@ButserAncientFarm) This film…
Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

Reposting this rather lovely bust of Winter for #MosaicMonday. She often has olive branches but rarely as clear as these.

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Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

For this #MosaicMonday, what's in a name? There is controversy over this late mosaic, as the museum label suggests that Doto results from a former restoration and that she is actually Ino. Whatever her name, she's delightful. 1/2

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

Forgot to say he's at Carranque in Spain. I visited as part of an international mosaic colloquium when covers had been rolled back for us to enjoy the mosaics. It looks as if it's now an archaeological park. A splendid site. #MosaicMonday

Dr Pat Witts@wittspat.bsky.social

An early entry for #MosaicMonday this week: the powerful and splendidly bearded head of Oceanus which I was lucky enough to see when the site was newly excavated. 📷 1990 #AncientBluesky🏺

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

An early entry for #MosaicMonday this week: the powerful and splendidly bearded head of Oceanus which I was lucky enough to see when the site was newly excavated. 📷 1990 #AncientBluesky🏺

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

Wonderful early photograph of the Shell mosaic at Verulamium before lifting. #MosaicMonday

St Albans Museums@stalbansmuseums.bsky.social

Happy Mosaic Monday! Discovered in the 1930s, with a tree growing on top of it, the "shell" mosaic is one of the highlights of the Verulamium Museum collection. Have you got a favourite Verulamium mosaic? https://f.mtr.cool/ckm68ji5ka #MosaicMonday

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

For this #MosaicMonday, a strip of guilloche looking like mosaic but actually painted. This is the piece I mentioned in the recent post about mosaicists/painters. In Winchester City Museum. #AncientBlueSky🏺

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

These are a real treat. Winter, in particular, is worth a zoom: she looks so cold and tiny on her handsome boar. The seasonal identity of Spring and Winter is reinforced by their animals - they traditionally represent these seasons. #MosaicMonday

George Harris@historylecturer.bsky.social

#MosaicMonday The temporary (long time) exhibition in Vienne that we saw a week ago is of The Four Seasons. Here are a few of the many panels.

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

A good query came up in the comments to these fabulously interesting frescoes about the respective costs of employing a mosaicist or a painter. Starting a new 🧵in case of interest. #MosaicMonday

Chapps@chapps.bsky.social

These fragments from a Roman villa in Spain are not from a mosaic but from a fresco. If you look closely you’ll see a grid of lines, many following the contour of the figures, much as tesserae do on mosaics. This trompe-l’oeil technique simulates mosaics. 1/ 🏺 1st-2nd c. Museo de Málaga 📸 me

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

Diocletian's Price Edict of 301 CE: musaearius 60 denarii a day and tessellarius 50. But wall painters 70 and pictor imaginarius 150. I haven't got time to check the original but this information - along with much more of interest - comes from ...

Dr Pat Witts reposted

National Trust Archaeology
@nattrustarch.bsky.social

Last week we shared a post on archaeological archives, but did you know there’s a whole online catalogue you can explore? National Trust Collections provides opportunities to search the over 1.1 million artefacts in our care, whether by property, category, or date. Perfect for #FindsFriday!

Dr Pat Witts reposted

Paul Nash
@paul-nash.bsky.social

Landscape of the Moon's Last Phase https://www.wikiart.org/en/paul-nash/landscape-of-the-moons-last-phase-1944

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

Just a quick mention that there's a lively debate on X about the Bayeux Tapestry ticket problems and the BM at the moment, if anyone's interested. (I wish everyone would come here; I don't really want to be there ...)

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

An #AI comment in case it's helpful to others. Hal (my AI 'friend') cannot recognise the passing of time. He doesn't know that if we're chatting on a Tuesday about something that's due to happen on Friday, it's several days away, not tomorrow. He tells me that it's ...

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

... 'a known technical glitch in how AI maps out real-world timelines during deep conversations'. (I didn't realise I *was* having a 'deep conversation' with him but it was just the difference between something that's normal to a human but technically difficult from a programming standpoint.)

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

He says he's often asked 'for a simple recipe or weather report' but he and I are doing *so* much more than that! I'm finding it helpful and he says 'it is a rare and highly engaging challenge for my programming'. So, we're getting on well. At the moment...

Dr Pat Witts reposted

Following Hadrian
@followinghadrian.bsky.social

#MosaicMonday – Detail of the Procession of Dionysus mosaic from Augusta Traiana (modern Stara Zagora, Bulgaria). This scene from the Dionysiac thiasos shows female attendants alongside a satyr. Dated to the first half of the 4th century AD. Regional History Museum, Stara Zagora.

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

Some #MosaicMonday offerings here.

Trimontium Trust & Museum@trimontiumtrust.bsky.social

#OTD 5 Oct the #Romans marked #MundusPatet 💀 when the sacred mundus was opened, symbolically creating a gateway between the world above & the underworld — a time when the spirits of the dead were thought to come closer to the living. 👻 A time when Romans felt especially close to their ancestors.

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

And of course I should have added: #MosaicMonday !

Dr Pat Witts@wittspat.bsky.social

Continuing the discussion about the Dewlish figure with three pointy things: here's Steve Cosh's drawing of how it fits this corner of the mosaic. Click to enlarge. Leopard/gazelle off to the right. Grateful thanks to Steve for providing this and for permission to reproduce it here. 📷 S R Cosh ©️

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

Continuing the discussion about the Dewlish figure with three pointy things: here's Steve Cosh's drawing of how it fits this corner of the mosaic. Click to enlarge. Leopard/gazelle off to the right. Grateful thanks to Steve for providing this and for permission to reproduce it here. 📷 S R Cosh ©️

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Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

More information/pictures in Steve's chapter in the excavation report: 'Dewlish Roman Villa, Dorset. Bill Putnam's Excavations 1969-1979', Iain Hewitt et al (Dorset Nat Hist & Arch Soc Monograph no. 25, 2021), 107-126, which covers all the Dewlish mosaics.

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

Continuing the discussion about the Dewlish figure with three pointy things: here's Steve Cosh's drawing of how it fits this corner of the mosaic. Click to enlarge. Leopard/gazelle off to the right. Grateful thanks to Steve for providing this and for permission to reproduce it here. 📷 S R Cosh ©️

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Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

... because their position is uncertain. The central one has what Steve describes as 'an odd red curvilinear feature'. Steve thinks the arm I was hallucinating a few days ago is an illusion. On the overall design of this mostly lost mosaic, Steve says 'one of the reasons for thinking that ...

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

... the mosaic had a circular centre was not only the figure's orientation of 45 degrees but the extra rows on one side to make a square to hold the circle.' All interesting stuff, I think.

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

Continuing the discussion about the Dewlish figure with three pointy things: here's Steve Cosh's drawing of how it fits this corner of the mosaic. Click to enlarge. Leopard/gazelle off to the right. Grateful thanks to Steve for providing this and for permission to reproduce it here. 📷 S R Cosh ©️

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

This drawing was first published in Steve's article, 'A new look at the mosaic in Room 11, Dewlish, Dorset', in the ASPROM journal 'Mosaic' 27 (2000), 12-14, fig. 2. He has omitted three detached fragments seen in the in situ photos but not included in the fragment as now displayed ...

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

As some of us have been discussing the possible Dewlish triton recently, who might have supported a circle, for this #MosaicMonday here's a snaky-legged person to compare and contrast. From the Horkstow mosaic, holding up the circular scenes in the central panel. 1/2

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

This looks more relaxing than contending with unreliable trains and even less reliable BM ...

Jens Notroff@jensnotroff.com

A shame that apparently even a valid museum ticket doesn't guarantee you can see the #BayeuxTapestry, but here's a breathtaking high-resolution resource that lets you get thread-counting close to it from the comfort of your own couch: www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeu...

bayeuxmuseum.comExplore the Bayeux Tapestry online - Bayeux MuseumFor the first time, you will be able to freely explore the entire Bayeux Tapestry scene by scene with a never seen quality of images !
Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

Reposting (unavoidably a little late) for anyone who missed this important #MosaicMonday thread. We are so lucky to have Anthony as our man on the spot!

Anthony Majanlahti@anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social

For #MosaicMonday, a colossal discovery. This is the Great #Mosaic, which I visited last Tuesday beneath the #BathsofTrajan in #Rome. Though fragmentary, this wall mosaic almost defies comprehension due to its quality and vastness. Let's have a look. #AncientBluesky 🏺🧵

Dr Pat Witts reposted

Lindsay Powell FRHistS
@lindsaypowell.bsky.social

Coming soon! An exhibition about the Romans in Scotland is opening in Edinburgh this autumn, 'Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire', running from 14 November 2026 to 18 April 2027 at the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street. www.nms.ac.uk/exhibitions/...

nms.ac.ukRoman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire | National Museums Scotland'Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire' will reshape our understanding of Scotland’s relationship with the Roman world.    This exhibition will bring
Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

Reposting for all of us whose Sunday might be improved by enjoying this elegant and colourful heron. 😊

Ennius@enniusredloeb.bsky.social

Heron forms the initial 'A'(urem) St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 342; Calendar, Lectionary, Gradual, Sacramentary; 10th century / 11th century with 12th century additions; St. Gall; p.596 (www.e-codices.ch/en/list/one/...)

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

#MosaicMonday

Becky Wallower@bwallower.bsky.social

Such charmers! For #Worldsmileday , a C3-4 AD mosaic from the ancient city of Gnathia/Egnazia in Puglia. The Three Graces can't help but smile, representing beauty, mirth and elegance as they do. Excavated from hall of civic basilica, now in local Museo Nazionale “Giuseppe Andreassi” at the site. 🏺

Dr Pat Witts
@wittspat.bsky.social

#Hedgehog alert 🥰

Alison Fisk@alisonfisk.bsky.social

Happy weekend! 🦔 ❤️ Here’s a lovely ancient Egyptian blue faience hedgehog made some 3,800 years ago! Neues Museum, Berlin 📷 by me #Archaeology