Ludi gallinarii on the mosaic floor from Oescus (NW Bulgaria)

Abstract

During archaeological research in 1948 in the central part of the Roman Oescus (modern-day Gigen) at the confluence of the Iskar and Danube rivers, in the province of Moesia Inferior (Late Roman province Dacia Ripensis), a structure was discovered with a room decorated with a mosaic floor with figural scenes. Mosaics’ panels depicted scenes from Menander’s piece “The Achaeans”, cockfights, world of fishes and animals – symbols of seasons. Special attention is dedicated to a partially preserved depiction of a cockfight (ludi gallinarii), which was one of the favourite sports and gambling events in Roman times. These scenes appear on various monuments, mosaics, tombstones, wall paintings, and toreutics. We will attempt to determine the origin of the patron, and possibly the workshop that produced this mosaic of exceptional value, based on the analysis of the monuments, and overview of displays on the mosaic from Oescus