British Archaeologists Find Roman Mosque Floors In Supermarket Construction Sites

The discovery of a Roman mosaic floor in England. (Twitter/@oatweet)

JAKARTA - An archaeologist in England has found a "fantastically" Roman mosaic floor on the ground designated for a supermarket, showing that a villa once occupied the site.

A team of experts from Oxford Archaeology was asked to survey a plot of land in the town of Olney, near Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, before work building Aldi's shop at the site.

Once they dug up, they found a colorful mosaic tile they now believe to be part of a Roman villa, with a bath nearby.

Announcing an "interesting discovery" on Twitter, Oxford's archeology reads: "There is a Roman settlement previously known in Olney #buckinghamshire so when work starts, we know there's a possibility to find some pretty cool structures and discoveries but... a mosaic! Wow!," as reported by CNN, March 21.

The mosaic still features "bright colors and complicated decorative patterns," according to a press release from Oxford Archaeology.

"The part that is not closed, very lively, shows blue and cream decorations on the outside and red, white, and blue patterns with typical Roman decorative elements on the inside," the statement read.

The team was registered by the Angle Property developer, as evidence of a previous Roman settlement had been found in this part of the city.

Near the mosaics, archaeologists found several stone buildings they believed might be water tanks and parts of the bathhouse.

"Due to the site's location, we anticipate some of the famous Roman relics, but this fantastic mosaic discovery far exceeds those expectations," said John Boothroyd, senior project manager at Oxford's Archaeological.

Anthony Williamson, executive director and owner of part of Angle Property, said the discovery "surprised us all."

"The Roman mosaics add to our knowledge and understanding of our history and it will be fully recorded and the information is published in due course," he added.

Such extraordinary Roman discoveries were never heard of in England. Last year, most of the well-preserved Roman mosaics were found in London near Shard, the tallest building in the capital. The site excavated by these archaeologists previously served as a car parking lot.

A year earlier, a Roman mosaic was found on a British farm. It was the first of its kind discovered in England to describe the battle of the Greek hero Achilles with Hector during the Trojan War.

We can now share a pretty exciting find, just in time for #FindsFriday ...A Roman #mosaic, probably belonging to the Durobrivan group from the East Midlands, that we uncovered during excavations at Olney, Buckinghamshire on behalf of Angle Property 1/3#romanarchaeology pic.twitter.com/NyQ3lnZoZt

— Oxford Archaeology (@oatweet) March 17, 2023