Explore the History of this artwork, The Beauty of Durrës.
The mosaic was created in the second half of 4th century BC in Durrës, then known as Epidamnos, to serve as the decorative floor of a private and luxurious restroom. The mosaic was discovered in 1916, in the middle of the First World War, when Durrës was occupied by the forces of Austria-Hungary. During works by the Austro-Hungarian army to construct air raid shelters, the military engineers ran into this mosaic, which was unearthed 3.80 m (12.5 ft) deep in the foundations of a house in the “Varosh” quarter, very close to the present-day city centre of Durrës city. The Austrian archaeologist Camillo Praschniker quickly examined the mosaic in April 1918 before the shelter was finished. In his article Muzakhia and Malakastra: Archaeological research in Central Albania (German: Muzakhia und Malakastra: archäologische Untersuchungen in Mittelalbanien), published in Vienna in 1920, Praschniker was the first to include a picture of the mosaic and he described it as a figurative masterpiece.Eventually, after the end of the war, The Beauty of Durrës was covered up and lost to view, only to be rediscovered in 1947 by an archaeologist from Durrës, Vangjel Toçi. It became widely known to the world of art history only after 1959.In 1982 the mosaic was carefully moved from Durrës and placed in the main hall of antiquities in the National Historical Museum at Tirana, where it can still be seen today.
Epidamnos mosaic army Austro-Hungarian First World War Austria-Hungary Camillo Praschniker Austrian Albania Durrës Tirana archaeologist Vienna National Historical Museum