Museum of Mosaics, Devnya, Bulgaria

The Museum of Mosaics in Devnya, Bulgaria, is situated on the remains of a Late Roman villa known as the House of Antiope. Founded in 1976 through archaeological research, the villa dates back to the late 3rd or early 4th century AD. The museum showcases mosaics from the Roman and early Byzantine city of Marcianopolis, along with other archaeological artifacts.

The villa, almost square in shape, features 21 rooms around an inner courtyard, with a total area of 1,409 m2. The museum building, designed by architect Kamen Goranov, covers the western part of the villa. However, there have been concerns about the building's structural integrity, with visible cracks and sinking due to groundwater.

Three of the mosaics are exhibited in situ and the remaining have been moved from their original locations in order to be conserved and restored. As a whole, the mosaics were laid out using the opus tessellatum (tiles aligned in horizontal or vertical lines) and opus vermiculatum (tiles aligned so as to draw an outline around the shapes) techniques. The tiles were made of marble, clay, limestone and coloured glass and include 16 colour varieties.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Deyan Stoynov (2 years ago)
3-4 big mosaic and several artifacts. 30 min max to see all what’s inside

Noel Nugteren (2 years ago)
Nice, but small. Low entrance fee (5 lv) was ok for it however.

Dimitar Stefanov (2 years ago)
Cool mosaics, but I would like it more if they clean them better or show a picture/reproduction of the mosaics' picture, so we can see clearly what it's supposed to look like.

Octav Popescu (3 years ago)
Great underrated museum, despite the poor local organisation. At first I thought it is closed but luckily some school children came and entered. Very interesting mosaics, gold coins and artefacts.

Darin Krumov (4 years ago)
Great museum, but a bit old and needs restoration. Interesting mosaics can be seen as a glimpse into the Ancient Roman lifestyle.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Following Hadrian

Historic Site of the week

Walls of Constantinople

The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.

Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.

Museum of Mosaics

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Walls of Constantinople