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This magnificent mosaic perfectly captures ancient Rome's love with Egypt's unique charm.
Among its extraordinary collection of regional archaeology, the National Archeological Museum in Palestrina preserves a magnificent piece that stands apart from the rest: an ancient mosaic depicting a scene from the Nile. Dating to the 1st century BCE, this Egyptian mosaic is believed to be the product of Alexandrian craftsmen, and it is among the most spectacular of the late Hellenistic age. Measuring almost 20 by 13 feet (6 by 4 meters), the mosaic depicts a flooded Nilotic landscape, inhabited by animals both real and imaginary, Ptolemaic Greeks, Aethiopian hunters, and priests performing rituals in their magnificent temples. The figures are often labeled in Greek characters and the entire scene may represent a vivid map of the Nile as it flows from the highlands of Ethiopia to the delta in the Mediterranean Sea
