Toys for Grown-Up Scholars

The first hall of Roman mosaics in the Bardo Museum is the mausoleum hall. It takes its name from the plastered mausoleum standing in the centre, discovered during the excavation of a Roman-era cemetery dating from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The floor and walls display mosaics featuring geometric patterns and animal motifs.

As I sifted through these photographs and prepared them for publication, I believe I finally understood why archaeologists are so fond of mosaics, excavating and restoring them with such rapturous enthusiasm. It appears they have managed to find themselves a job, as people say nowadays, “purely for the fun of it.” Just imagine: you can spend whole days doing nothing at all except putting together jigsaw puzzles, and they actually pay you a salary for it!