Bristol’s largest and oldest Roman mosaic is going on display to the public for only the second time in more than 150 years.

The Orpheus Mosaic floor was discovered at a Roman villa in the small village of Newton St Loe to the west of Bath during the construction of the Bristol to Bath section of the Great Western Railway in 1837.

Measuring approximately 16 square feet and thought to date from the late 200s, the mosaic illustrates the story of mythical poet and musician Orpheus charming a circle of wild animals.

After its discovery, the mosaic was lifted and re-laid at Keynsham railway station where it remained until it was given to the Bristol Institution (a forerunner of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery) in 1851.

It was later packed into crates, before being painstakingly pieced together in the front hall of the museum in 2000.

The mosaic will go on display tomorrow and is a preview of a new exhibition, Roman Empire: Power & People, which opens in September.

Detailed work on the mosaic prior to it being assembled for public viewing