The symbol of the city of Nîmes is a crocodile chained to a palm tree. I found these images everywhere while I wandered around the city. Here's what I was able to learn about the symbol's origin: when Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus conquered Egypt in 31 BC, he rewarded his troops with land in the Roman colony Nemausus -- Nîmes. At that time, a coin was struck depicting a crocodile chained to a palm tree, apparently to symbolize Rome's conquest of Egypt. The Archaeological Museum holds a few mosaic pavement fragments. It also contains a nice collection of Greek Black-Figure and Red-Figure vases. ![]() Three interesting and unique black and white mosaic panels. Very different from anything I have seen. However, I could find no information on these mosaics. The museum is currently in the process of moving to a new space, and much of the collection is off display until that move in 2018. ![]() All photos are copyright protected property of Brenda Pokorny unless otherwise noted. If you would like permission for use, please contact me. |
My Photos: Mosaics around the world > My Photos: France -- Mosaics > My Photos: Mosaics -- France -- Nîmes >