Sebastián Vargas Vázquez - Böcker

This volume focuses on the study of the geometric designs documented in the mosaics of the Conventus Astigitanus, one of the four conventi iuridici of Roman Baetica. This study is part of a much broader undertaking, the primary objective of which is the analysis of the geometric mosaic designs of the province as a whole.The number of mosaics in the Conventus Astigitanus, and the larger number still documented in other areas of Baetica, place this province among those with the highest count of mosaics in the Roman world providing evidence of the level of cultural and economic power enjoyed by the province over the centuries.As a whole, this study makes an absolutely necessary contribution to the understanding of Roman mosaics in general and Hispanic mosaics in particular, based on an innovative and unprecedented approach in Spain. It includes a very significant number of designs and provides the basis for a completely open catalogue, to which new models may be added as they become available through the continual study of new mosaics. This catalogue ultimately aims to become a reference for the study of geometric mosaics and compositions in the Roman world. Moreover, the value of the present volume also lies in the contribution that is offered to a topic, the analysis of geometric composition, which is of great interest beyond the author’s specific field of study.