Pebble Mosaics

Opinions vary as to the location of the earliest pebble mosaics.  Pebbles were used as a durable floor covering from as early as the Neolithic era.  The Mycenaeans appear to have been the first to construct patterned pebble mosaics, examples of polychrome designs having been found in Tiryns dating back to the 13th century BC.  

By the beginning of the 2nd century BC, stone and glass tesserae had begun to replace pebbles as a flooring material.  However, there was a resurgence of interest in pebble mosaics in Italy between the 16th and 18th centuries and many villas were decorated with them - an example of this being the steps of the orangery in the Villa Medici.

Once again pebble mosaics fell out of fashion, but recently there has been an increase in the number being created for our parks and towns.  Below are two pebble mosaics that I have found on Merseyside.  Click on the image or text to view more.