Pictures photos Roman mosaics depicting animals including mammals, birds and fish. he History of Animal Depictions in Roman Mosaics. From the 1st century AD the mosaics on the floors of Roman villa became intricate in their designs. Initially Roman mosaicists used black geometric designs to make panels within which animal depictions were placed. By the end of the second century coloured mosaics were being produced with increasingly detailed animal depictions. By the end of the third century the geometric element of many Roman mosaic floors, particularly those following the style set by north African mosaicists, had been reduced to a narrow border within which scenes of animal hunts, full seascapes with fish and intricate panels with exotic birds like peacocks were being produced throughout the Roman Empire. A popular theme of Roman mosaics was the hunt. Fine examples can be seen at the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily in the Room of the Small Hunt and The Room of the Big Hunt. The Small Hunt mosaic shows animals being hunted such as hares, deer and wild boar. The Big Hunt shows animals from Africa such as lions and elephants being captured to be taken to the Colosseum. Another popular theme in Roman animal mosaics were depiction of the River Nile and its animals. Hippopotamus and exotic birds are depicted in and on the banks of the Nile as well as snakes and alligators. The Romans loved seascapes which were populated with fish and dolphins. A wonderful example is the mosaic from Lod in present day Israel that depicts a sea teaming with endless species of fish.

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