During 70 years of sporadic excavations at the Villa Romana del Casale, an elaborate Roman villa in south-central Sicily, archaeologists have uncovered some unusual mosaics beneath layers of mud and medieval debris. There are bikini-clad women playing with a ball, cupids fishing, even seahorses wrapped in panther skins.

Another oddity is a pair of modern-looking flip-flops that was first spotted a decade ago. It was discovered in the mosaic-paved frigidarium, or cold bath, of the villa’s southern baths, a complex that also included an elaborate suite of rooms with pools and the Roman equivalent of a gymnasium. Nearby, is the inscription “Treptona bibas”, which likely referred to a woman associated with the baths’ management.

Now, the flip-flops are being “enhanced and analyzed” by Summer School ArchLabs, a program led by the University of Bologna’s Isabella Baldini that teaches young students from around the world the skills of a modern archaeologist.

ArchLABS involved students from 11 different countries. Photo: Photo: courtesy Isabella Baldini.

“Flip-flops are a recurring motif in Late Roman baths, also attested in Spain, Cyrenaica, Cyprus, Jordan, and Asia Minor,” Baldini said over email. “As in other cases, the depiction of such a subject serves to characterize the building in question within its aristocratic and international dimension. They are historical markers that reflect the villa’s social and cultural life.”

Although today’s flip-flops trace their lineage to Japanese straw and cloth zori sandals, which in turn inspired Brazilian adaptations, the ancient Romans used a range of sandals that served both military and civilian functions. Roman soldiers often wore the caligae, a thickly-soled and often hobnailed sandal designed for traction and durability. Civilians, by contrast, opted for lighter styles, such as the soleae which were made from leather or woven materials and held to the foot with a strap or thong.

The famed “bikini girls” mosaic from Villa Romana del Casale. Photo: courtesy Getty Images.

While great excitement surrounds some of the site’s unusual mosaics, a great deal of archaeological research remains to be completed at the villa. “One of the main goals is to unify the excavation areas, linking the various sectors to restore a coherent picture of the villa’s original layout,” Baldini said. “Through 3D modeling, geophysical surveys, and archival research, scholars are creating an integrated, digitally accessible record of the site.”

The inland villa owes its remarkable state of preservation to a Medieval landslide that buried its frescoes beneath protective earth. Although it was originally rediscovered in the 19th century and is named for an agricultural settlement that flourished at the site centuries earlier, it wasn’t until the 1950s that archaeologists began to systematically excavate the the 37,000-square-foot villa. What emerged was one of the most exquisite collections of Roman mosaics and a vivid snapshot of how members of the elite lived.

The Villa Romana del Casale covers three broad terraces at the foot of a hill and dates from the 3rd or 4th century C.E., a period in which Roman elites increasingly conducted business in the seclusion of vast rural estates. As a result, private residences feature lavish reception and banquet halls to host guests with architectural touchstones like columns, masonry, and mosaic work, that echoes those of grand public buildings.

The Sicilian villa is an excellent example of this shift. It featured a basilica used for administrative and social functions, a cavernous dining room, and a bathing complex. Murals cover the interior rooms and external walls of the villa’s residence and it boasts more than 37,000 square feet of mosaics, roughly the size of an American football field.

The mosaics typically reflect themes connected to the rooms in which they appear: scenes of athletic competition in the gym, cupids harvesting grapes in the dining room, an amorous couple in the master bedroom. Many mosaics seem to directly or symbolically praise the villa’s owner, most famously the so-called Great Hunt scene which depicts the pursuit, capture, and transport of animals. It’s believed the owner may have been a high-ranking official whose duties not only included supplying Rome with grain, but organizing the city’s games. It’s a point strengthened by the presence of two landowners, possibly father and son, supervising the capture of animals in the mosaic.

Gino Vinicio Gentili led the first excavations of Villa Romana del Casale in the 1950s. Photo: courtesy Isabella Baldini.

While historians have yet to agree on the identity of Villa Romana del Casale’s owner, it was likely someone with strong connections to North Africa, given the style of the mosaics and the fact that Sicily grew in importance in the 4th century as a producer and trading point for grain following the diversion of Egyptian resources to the newly founded Constantinople.

The villa and its mosaics were announced as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. Despite this protection, in the past year Italian heritage groups have sounded the alarm over the site’s deterioration owing to mismanagement and underfunding.