MAKE YOUR OWN MOSAIC

This kit was first offered to me at 80Dt from a stall outside the Bardo Museum so I wondered if it was really "Roman". Anyway it was eventually purchased for about 20Dt. I cannot find a "where it was made" sticker and so it could well be another Chinese product. Most things in Tunisia are made at home, but it's hard to tell. An embroidered top I really liked was made in Thailand and the leather jackets are often Chinese. We enjoyed the Bardo Museum and the mosaics that have been rescued and brought there to be restored. There are some splendid examples of Roman mosaics at the museum in St Albans in the UK but the Bardo has acres of them and an amazingly great variety on display.

The Andalucian style tiles are shown here on the walls and ceilings and.....

...amazing Roman tile tableaus are on the walls here...

....and here. Signs of the zodiac, fish of the sea, hunting scenes and lots more.

The small tessela are quite well coloured in Roman mosaics but the Phoenician/Punic designs are black/cream and rely on geometric forms for their designs. This picture of the abundant fish of the Mediterranean is a sad reflection of how richly endowed the seas were a couple of thousand years ago.

Ruins to come!!!

Cheers Gillian