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Floor mosaic in Villa Silin that depicts a chariot race in the hippodrome, such as took place in nearby Leptis Magna. The ruins of this private home were discovered right on the coast just west of Homs, and it was being cleaned by Jabbar Matug (manager of Leptis Magna for the Libyan Archaeology Dept., Angelicca Pujia (mosaic restorer from Instituto Superiore per la Conservazione e il Restauro), Salem Muftah Gheddafi (restoration technician). Due to many years of neglect and exposure to salt air, the exterior mosaics are in dire need of preservation, but those indoors are in extraordinarily good condition and offer a beautiful glimpse into the life of the Roman empire. Purified water is being applied here to better see the mosaics, which have become covered in dust and subjected to chemical weathering after almost two millennia of being buried beneath wind-blown beach sand.

Filename
STNMTZ_20120522_02960.tif
Copyright
©2012 George Steinmetz
Image Size
5760x3840 / 63.3MB
Contained in galleries
Libya Revisited
Floor mosaic in Villa Silin that depicts a chariot race in the hippodrome, such as took place in nearby Leptis Magna. The ruins of this private home were discovered right on the coast just west of Homs, and it was being cleaned by Jabbar Matug (manager of Leptis Magna for the Libyan Archaeology Dept., Angelicca Pujia (mosaic restorer from Instituto Superiore per la Conservazione e il Restauro), Salem Muftah Gheddafi (restoration technician). Due to many years of neglect and exposure to salt air, the exterior mosaics are in dire need of preservation, but those indoors are in extraordinarily good condition and offer a beautiful glimpse into the life of the Roman empire. Purified water is being applied here to better see the mosaics, which have become covered in dust and subjected to chemical weathering after almost two millennia of being buried beneath wind-blown beach sand.

All images ©George Steinmetz. Please contact us for usage.