Woodchester's Roman pavement revealed

Visitors to Stroud this summer will have a rare opportunity to see a spectacular 212-year-old book, which documents the discovery of Woodchester's world famous Orpheus Pavement.

Produced in1797 by pioneer field-archaeologist Samuel Lysons, who discovered the Roman pavement by accident four years earlier, it will be on show at the Inprint bookshop in Stroud's High Street for the next five weeks.

The huge hand-coloured aquatint illustrations provide not only a uniquely beautiful record of the pavement and associated finds, but also offer a glimpse of the Woodchester Valley as it appeared at the end of the eighteenth century.

Although the book occasionally appears at auction, this is only the second copy obtained by Inprint in thirty years of trading in the town. It is one of bookseller Mike Goodenough's particular favourites, and he looks forward to sharing it with a wider public.

'I only had the previous copy for a short time and barely had an opportunity to photograph it before it was sold. This time I intend to complete a photographic record of the book, and produce a website so that a public record of it will remain accessible. To ensure that as many people as possible get an opportunity to see the book, any purchaser will need to agree to it remaining on public display until the end of August 2009.'

Due to the book's size (54 x 43 cm - in the book trade it's known as Elephant Folio) it rarely survives in good condition. However, this copy seems to have spent most of its life in an institutional library, and as a result, is remarkably well preserved.

Background

The Orpheus Pavement - which dates back to 325 AD, is one of the largest, and perhaps the most complex and intricate mosaics to be found in northern Europe. When complete it was composed of one and a half million pieces of stone.

The pavement lies buried beneath the churchyard in Woodchester, near Stroud, Gloucestershire. It has been uncovered seven times since 1880, and on the last occasion in 1973 it attracted more than140, 000 visitors.

Due to the constraints of the site, there seems little prospect of the pavement being opened again, but in the 1970's the Woodward brothers produced a full-size replica, which is currently on display in the old pottery at Prinknash Abbey.

Barrister, engraver and antiquary, as well as pioneer field-archaeologist, Samuel Lysons was amongst the first to investigate Roman sites in Britain. In his book, 'An Account of the Remains of a Roman Villa Discovered at Woodchester,' Lyson's brilliant combination of art and science allows us to experience the Roman villa and its mosaics, through the eyes of their discoverer.

You can see some images from the book here

For more information contact Mike Goodenough
INPRINT, 31 High Street, Stroud, GL5 2AJ
Tel: O1453 759 731
Mobile: 07595 591852
Email: mike@inprint.co.uk