Several mosaics were discovered in Herzogenbuchsee, in the north-east part of the canton. They belong to a villa from the second and third century, on top of which a Mediaeval church was built. The situation was clarified by a rescue excavation in 1990.
The church of Herzogenbuchsee. Photo: Wikimedia, Chris ALC.
Plan with the location of the mosaics (M1-M4). Suter-Bacher-Koenig 1992(2), Abb. 1.
A first mosaic (M1) was discovered in 1728, when the original church was torn down and the foundations were laid for a new building. It was a polychrome mosaic with meanders and rosettes. Investigations in 1846 showed that the room with the mosaic (square, with sides of 5.35 m.) had a raised floor and pipes in the walls for heating. The mosaic was cleared again in 1920 and in 1945.
Mosaic 1 in 1920. Suter-Bacher-Koenig 1992(2), Abb. 2.A second mosaic, also polychrome, was cleared and drawn in 1810 and 1811 (M2; 5.35 x 6.45 m.). Whilst the authorities were thinking about the future preservation of the mosaic, it was largely destroyed. The drawings and descriptions from the 19th century are unfortunately a bit confusing. A horseman in the centre has been interpreted as Bellerophon on Pegasus, a figure in the one of the corners as Pan. A tiger or panther in a semicircle was recomposed.
Drawing of mosaic M2. Schmid 2016, Abb. 57.
Detail of the drawing of mosaic M2. Kulturland Herzogenbuchsee.
The restored tiger or panther of mosaic 2. Suter-Bacher-Koenig 1992(2), Abb. 5.A third polychrome mosaic (M3) was cleared and drawn in 1767 and 1810. This mosaic was lost in the 1830's. A fourth polychrome mosaic (M4), with "little angels", was described briefly in 1812, but there is no drawing.
Drawing of mosaic M3. Suter-Bacher-Koenig 1992(2), Abb. 7.
Literature
Wyss-Dietrich 1945; Von Gonzenbach 1961, 115-119; Drack-Fellmann 1988, 408-409; Drack-Fellmann 1991, 137; Suter-Bacher-Koenig 1992(2); Delbarre-Bartschi 2014, 247; Schmid 2016.
[4-Nov-2023]
