Gilt-glass tesserae from Southwick Roman villa, West Sussex : A reappraisal

A total of 11 gilt-glass tesserae was recovered within the north wing of the Southwick villa, 8 during the excavations of S.E. Winbolt in 1931 and 3 during excavations by R.A. Canham in 1965. The former are known only from written accounts and photographs, the latter are preserved in the Manor Cottage Heritage Centre. A third group of 16, originally 17, glass tesserae, now in the Marlipins Museum at Shoreham-by-Sea, has been attributed to Southwick but is distinct from those found by Winbolt, since only 4 are gilt and one is green, while 11 are blue, and one is dark amber; moreover, all 17 are smaller in size than Winbolt's group. There is a possibility that they were imported from Italy, perhaps as part of the collection of the Sussex geologist and antiquarian Dr Gideon Marshall who is recorded in 1819 as having “some fine glass Roman tesserae inlaid with gold” and “tesserae of blue and green glass” in his possession.