Sandals mosaic added to Talli in Roman Villa, Sicily –

A mosaic depicting a pair of flip-flops was discovered at Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina in Sicily, adding their modest charm to the iconic Roman mosaics found there previously, including the famous “Bikini Girls” mosaic featuring sportswomen working out wearing bandeau tops and bikini briefs and the action-packed Great Hunt depicting the capture and shipping of exotic animals.

Sandals were found in the southern bathroom of the villa. This panel is adjacent to a multi-colored square pattern and a white text mosaic on a red background. Mosaic bands decorating the top of the bath pool were also found. In non-Mosaic discoveries, three large pillars with capital were found. While sandals and inscriptions may seem simple compared to the complex masterpieces elsewhere in the villa, they are actually part of a more refined whole and are made by a highly skilled 4th-century artist.

Some news articles about this discovery suggest that sandals are an unexpected surprise, and sandals that look like modern flip flops have never been seen in Roman art before during this period, so much so that this discovery changed our understanding of the fashionable footwear of Rome, Sicily. None of these are true. Sandals are a common pattern for Bass mosaics because Romans like themed shows, and people wear thongs in the bathrooms just like they wear them in the locker room today. Timgard’s public bathroom, Algeria has two pairs of sandals under the inscription “Bene Lava” (meaning “wash”). In mosaics, pairs of sandals, as well as striatum and hanging oil containers, are often found, which are all parts of the Roman workout experience, as athletes oil strigils before bathing and scrape off the sludge with strigils. A mosaic at the Sabrasha Museum in Libya has two pairs of sandals, two stripes and an oil container (“The bath is healthy”).

A new Mosaic discovery was made in the 4th International Archlabs International Summer School (Archaeological Heritage of Late Antiques and Byzantine School, Field School of Archaeology) at the 4th International Summer Heritage of Archaeology.

The mosaic will now be cleaned and merged to prepare it for a permanent exhibition. Meanwhile, Archlabs researchers will analyze the recovered materials and add their scan data to the villa’s comprehensive 3D model.