Orb Mosaics still speak to us

Between Orbe and Mathod, at the foot of the Rances hill, the walker and the motorist will see the six pavilions placed on the Boscéaz plateau. They house a dozen Roman mosaics. They are the vestige of a vast villa which, from the first to the second century AD, spread out here its thermal baths, its two interior courtyards with colonnades, its bedrooms, its kitchens, its stables.

The splendor of the mosaics strikes the visitor. In front of the so-called “divinities”, we are struck by the brilliance of the feathers of Mars’ helmet, of Jupiter’s eagle or of the face of Narcissus contemplating his reflection. The oxen of the “rustic procession” always pull their cart with the same slow power. The echo of the horn blower seems to resound in the gorges of the Orbe.

“We don’t know anything about the identity of the owner. This is one of the secrets the site holds.”

A Minotaur maze decorated a bedroom. Children on the school run, arms outstretched, outline the path to its exit. A medallion shows Ariadne sleeping under an olive tree on the island of Naxos where Theseus abandoned her to her fate. It recalls a mosaic discovered in 1847 and immediately destroyed under obscure circumstances.

Finally, “Achilles in Skyros” is the masterpiece of the place. For conservation reasons, the representation of this little-known episode of the Trojan War is rarely visible. It demonstrates the extent of the culture as well as the fortune of the owner of the place, whose identity we know nothing about. This is one of the secrets the site holds.

Placed in the long term, the location of this villa attests to the role of the Vaudois Plateau in West European geography, at the confluence of the Alpine, Germanic and Gallo-French spheres. Urba was located precisely at the crossroads from where the Gallic route was divided into that connecting Italy and that joining Germany (hls-dhs-dss.ch/fr/articles/007959/2015-02-10).

Passionate people

Open to the public for more than a century, the Boscéaz site owes its sustainability to the few enthusiasts who work within the Pro Urba Foundation, and the Association of Friends who support it. With modest means and the technical-scientific support of the Cantonal Archeology Service, these people are working on a voluntary basis to keep the site open. They organize security and guided tours, organize open days and coordinate publications. Having worked there and until recently since my adolescence, I know the effort it requires.

We must salute the work of the small Pro Urba team. It demonstrates the importance of associative structures in the promotion of our historical and archaeological heritage. Carried away in their wake, the entire Orbe region awaits the wider redevelopment which, finally, will perhaps one day transform the Boscéaz site into a museum worthy of the name.

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