Seviac Roman Villa continued...


 
 

 

When the swimming pool was excavated, two skeletons were found buried together in a shallow grave - an adolescent girl and boy, with the boy’s arm wrapped tenderly it seemed around the girl’s shoulder.
They had died together not from violence but perhaps plague or cholera.
Did she nurse him during his last days or did he nurse her?

The French have taken them to their hearts and called them
‘Les Amants’ - the Lovers.

In keeping with the flavour of the Roman family that lived here, the grounds are profuse with heavy rainbow coloured blooms of hundreds of irises. The Iris was not only a decorative flower but according to the sign which I can very loosely translate was a ‘flower cultivated since ancient times’ and was known for its medical as well as sweet scented properties.
Vicki accurately described them as being ‘blowsy’ - they certainly were not a quiet flower but scented the air in the heat of the mid day sun everywhere you walked.

Scale model of how it might have been laid out - it was a large extended Roman family and the baths could hold up to 40 guests so they obviously liked hosting and feastng - fish pickle anyone?

Seviac’s incomparable Mosaics well preserved even to this day by covering them up with sand and dirt during the winter months.