British Museum fragments of Roman Mosaic to return to the Cotswolds for the first time in over 200 years
Two fragments of an Orpheus mosaic will return to Cirencester for the first time in more than 200 years, where they will go on display at the Corinium Museum.
The fragments, which depict a leopard, a boar, a hunting dog and a variety of birds, were unearthed in 1812 at a Roman villa in the village of Withington. Soon after their discovery, they were lifted and taken to the British Museum, where they have remained in storage with only occasional public display over the last two centuries.
A special loan agreement with the British Museum will now bring these important pieces back to the Cotswolds.
The fragments will be on display from 31 January as part of Project Orpheus, which celebrates the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the Orpheus Mosaic at Barton Farm in Cirencester, and is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
As part of the project, Corinium Museum is collaborating with the British Museum’s loans team to get the Withington fragments back to the Cotswolds and on display alongside the Barton Farm mosaic, which shows Orpheus playing his lyre, surrounded by birds and animals.
A further loan from Bristol Museums means another fragment from the same mosaic - a panel showing a bear - will join the British Museum pieces. Donated to Bristol in the 19th century by the villa’s owner, the bear panel will be conserved as part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund project before being reunited with its companion fragments for the first time since they were lifted in 1812.
Emma Stuart, Museum Director said: “In my many presentations about Orpheus mosaics, I often made mention of the importance of the number of mosaics of this theme that have been discovered in Britain. To have the Withington Fragments on display here at the Corinium Museum has been on my wish list for a long time so to see the project unfold to make this happen is one of the highlights of my time here at the museum. I am thrilled and I can’t wait for people to see them.”
Richard Hobbs, Curator of the Romano-British and late Roman Collections at the British Museum, said: “The British Museum is delighted to help reunite the fragments of the mosaics for display in Corinium Museum as part of our national loans programme. Perhaps surprisingly, very few mosaics from Roman Britain are available for public view in museums in Britain and the vast majority of mosaics have either been lost, damaged beyond recovery or still lie buried under the soil. We therefore have to be grateful to our antiquarian ancestors for preserving these fragments for future generations.”
Philip Walker, Head of Culture and Creative Industries at Bristol City Council, said: “The Withington Bear mosaic was the first Roman item to be donated to Bristol Museums’ collections, so it holds a very special place in our history. We are very grateful to Project Orpheus for supporting its conservation.
“We’re excited to be a part of giving the public an opportunity to see it together with other animal mosaics from the same Roman pavement for the first time in over 200 years. This is going to be an amazing new display. This loan is just one part of an ongoing programme to facilitate access to Bristol Museums’ vast collections.”
Councillor Tony Dale, cabinet member for health, culture, and visitor experience at Cotswold District Council, said: “We are proud to support the return of these remarkable mosaic fragments to the Cotswolds after more than two centuries. This loan offers a rare opportunity to reunite pieces of our Roman past and to share them with the community where they were first discovered, contributing to our vibrant local cultural scene.”
Project Orpheus is a partnership project with the Barn Theatre, New Brewery Arts, the Corinium Museum and Cirencester Archaeological and Historical Society. A special conference celebrating Orpheus and mosaics will take place on 7 February 2026.
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Cotswold District Council Communications Team
Notes to editors
About Corinium Museum
Corinium Museum is located at the heart of Cirencester, the ‘Capital of the Cotswolds’. The principal collection consists of the highly significant finds from the Roman town of Corinium. However, the museum today is much more than that, taking you on a journey through time and charting the development of the Cotswolds from its prehistoric landscape to the modern-day.
About the British Museum
The British Museum is unique in bringing together under one roof the cultures of the world, spanning continents and oceans. No other museum is responsible for collections of the same depth and breadth, beauty and significance.
Its eight million objects allow us to explore the extraordinary diversity of human cultures, from small communities to vast empires, to discover the many forms and expressions human beings have given to every aspect of life, and to realise how closely they are interconnected.
The British Museum was founded in 1753 and opened its doors in 1759. It was the first national museum to cover all fields of human knowledge, open to visitors from across the world. Enlightenment ideals and values – critical scrutiny of all assumptions, open debate, scientific research, progress and tolerance – have marked the Museum since its foundation.
The Museum is driven by an insatiable curiosity for the world, a deep belief in objects as reliable witnesses and documents of human history, sound research, as well as the desire to expand and share knowledge.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/
About Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery | Bristol Museums
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund
About Project Orpheus
It’s been 200 years since the breathtakingly beautiful Orpheus Mosaic was unearthed from Barton Farm in Cirencester. Two centuries later, Project Orpheus, a National Lottery Heritage Funded project, has awakened the magic of Orpheus, his song and his connection to the world around us.
Over the past year and running from March 2025-February 2026, The Barn Theatre, New Brewery Arts and the Corinium Museum have collaborated to bring the story of Orpheus to life through art, heritage, performance, song, biodiversity, exhibitions and community engagement.
Project Orpheus – Art, History, Community & Creativity
About Freedom Leisure
Freedom Leisure runs the Corinium Museum facility on behalf of Cotswold District Council.
Freedom Leisure is one of the largest charitable and not-for-profit leisure trusts in the UK managing over 100 leisure and cultural facilities on behalf of partners across England and Wales. We are proud to be delivering high quality, value for money locally-focused leisure services that are sustainable and accessible to all and we are committed to their ongoing development. As a not-for-profit organisation all surpluses are reinvested in support of the objectives we share with our partners.
Improving lives through leisure
- Enabling communities to be more active more often, making the most of their leisure time
- To be a fun and rewarding place for our colleagues to work
- To support our partners with the provision of great community facilities
For all media enquiries please contact:
Samantha Fryer Ward [email protected] on 01285 655611