Students unearth a well-preserved mosaic of Medusa’s head
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Spanish archaeologists excavating the Huerta de Otero site in Mérida, Spain, have unearthed, along with other things, a mosaic of the mythical gorgon Medusa.
Inside a Roman domus likely from the second century, the mosaic was found in one of its main rooms spreading about 320 square feet (30-meter square). The central motif is represented by the head of Medusa framed in an octagonal medallion. While the mosaic is flocked by four peacocks, embodying the four seasons, at the corners.
Medusa - the ancient evil eye
Medusa, in Greek mythology, is the most famous of the monster figures known as Gorgons. Then and now, in popular culture, she is usually represented as a female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes. The myth goes that anyone who looks into her eyes turns blind. But unlike the Gorgons, she was represented as very beautiful.
Like the modern evil eye, the most common interpretation of Medusa is to ward off negative energy or evil.
As excavations continue at the site, Félix Palma, director of the Monumental City Consortium, said in the press release that this site "is of an exceptional character because of the level of conservation that the remains have and, above all, because of the ornamental apparatus that decorates the house so well preserved: not only the mosaic of the jellyfish but also paintings and sculptural motifs.”
Carried out by the students-workers of the Barraeca II Professional School of the City Council, they found other motifs on the mosaic like jellyfish, fish, geometric motifs, etc.
Palma explained that the excavation at the Huerta de Otero began in 1976,. By 2019, the City Council, the Consortium, and the Institute of Archaeology started working on the abandoned site to add more value.
Medusa has been a common theme in other mosaics found in Spain. The researchers concluded that the wealthy family that stayed in the Roman domus must have added that as a protection or prophylactic sign.
The young students of the Barraeca II Professional School of the City Council and professional archaeologists plan to excavate the site in hopes of making discoveries.
Other findings at the site include a 130 feet (40 meters) long and 8.9 feet (2.70 meters) wide section of Roman foundation wall. The remains of a Roman road with a 20 feet (6-meter) width were also discovered, running parallel to the wall, dating back to the 4th century A.D.
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