In the summer of 2020, a British family discovered a Roman mosaic on their farmland in Rutland, England, depicting scenes from the Trojan War. Archaeologists from the University of Leicester later uncovered three panels showing the battle between Achilles and Hector, dating to the 4th century C.E. The mosaic, named the Ketton Mosaic, is the first known depiction of the Trojan War in a British mosaic and was originally part of a Roman villa's dining room floor.
This discovery matters because it challenges long-held assumptions about the literary sources of Roman art in Britain. Professor Jane Masséglia's study, published in Britannia, argues that the mosaic's narrative follows Aeschylus's lost play "The Phrygians" rather than Homer's Iliad, as evidenced by details like chariot combat, Hector's wounds, and the weighing of his body for ransom. The find reshapes understanding of how classical myths were transmitted and adapted in Roman Britain.