Centcelles

Mosaic dome

View of the mosaic dome from the villa at Centcelles. Museu Nacional Arqueològic de Tarragona.

View of the mosaic dome from the villa at Centcelles. Museu Nacional Arqueològic de Tarragona.

The dome is entirely covered with a polychrome mosaic with scenes divided into three sections: the lower frieze shows a hunt; the middle frieze scenes from the Old and New Testaments, separated by columns, and the top frieze shows the four seasons, alternating with four scenes showing a seated personage accompanied by others. The composition converges on a central medallion, of which only a group of small heads remains.

This is the oldest-known dome mosaic with Christian imagery from the Roman world.

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