A Thousand Flowers and an Ancient Graveyard

In London, archaeologists have unearthed a Roman glass bowl–a millefiori dish (a thousand flowers) with a mosaic of hundreds of blue petals with white borders. This dish is believed to be from around the 2nd to the 3rd century, A.D. It is a unique find in the Western Roman Empire, discovered in what is believed to be an ancient cemetery beyond the walls of the city of old London.

Several other grave goods were excavated, providing even more evidence that the cemetery itself covered a massive area, possibly up to 40 acres in size. The cemetery sat unknown under Victorian era houses that were flattened during World War II, and was later turned into a parking lot. When the area was slated for redevelopment, an archaeological investigation was put into place.

Source: Ruters, Wednesday April 29th, 2009

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