A fragment of a remarkable Roman mosaic depicting sea creatures has returned to the Corinium Museum – nearly 2,000 years after it was created and 45 years after it was last seen by museum staff.
The fragment formed part of a spectacular 2nd-century Roman mosaic discovered on Dyer Street in 1783.
The original mosaic depicted a procession of real and mythological sea creatures, including fish, an eel, bivalves, a crab and shrimp, alongside swimming cupids, a sea-horse and a sea-leopard.
An intricate drawing made by antiquarians Samuel Lysons and Richard Smirke suggested the central design may have featured Neptune in his chariot, with a Nereid riding a sea creature.
The mosaic was reburied during the 19th century before being partly uncovered again in the 1980s beneath the foundations of Gloucester House on Dyer Street.
By then, it had suffered damage from building work over the years.
However, one corner fragment was carefully lifted and saved by Stephen Clews, then Assistant Curator at the Corinium Museum, and conservator Marilee Parrott.
It was subsequently conserved by Nerina de Silva as part of a BSc thesis before passing into the private care of the Lamplough family, who owned Gloucester House.
Now, after more than four decades, the fragment has found its way back to the museum.
In 2026, Piers Lamplough, son of the former owner, contacted museum staff to ask if they would like to see the long-lost piece.
It arrived at the Corinium Museum for the first time in 45 years – to the delight of staff.
Piers has offered to leave the fragment at the museum on a five-year loan, with plans for it to go on temporary public display.
Emma Stuart, Director of the Corinium Museum, said: “We all thought the mosaic lost forever so to have a fragment find its way back to us after all this time is incredibly exciting.”
She said the fragment was particularly important because it provided tangible evidence supporting the early illustrations and photographs from the 1980s of another extraordinary mosaic from Roman Corinium.
The museum already displays two mosaics – the Seasons and Hunting Dogs – which are believed to have come from the same Roman town house that commissioned the sea life mosaic.
“When you see it up close, you get a wonderful impression of the colours and materials used,” Ms Stuart added.
Piers Lamplough said his family had always regarded the fragment as something to be cared for rather than owned.
“We never truly own history. We simply become its custodians for a time, preserving it until it finds its way to the next generation.”
He described the fragment’s journey through nearly 2,000 years as an extraordinary connection between generations, including those who created it, rediscovered it and helped conserve it.
He also highlighted a remarkable twist in the story – living in Sri Lanka, in the same place as Nerina de Silva, who first helped conserve the fragment.
“To me and my family, this fragment has never simply been an archaeological object,” he said. “It is a reminder that history has a way of bringing people together, celebrating those from the past and helping to write the next chapter in the story.”
Dr Pat Witts, of the Association for the Study and Preservation of Roman Mosaics (ASPROM), said the mosaic had been described as one of the best drawn and most classical in style of all Romano-British mosaics.
He said it was “thrilling” that part of the supposedly lost mosaic had survived and returned to the museum on loan.
The fragment is expected to go on public display at the Corinium Museum by the end of the year.
