BATUMI, GEORGIA—Science in Poland reports that fragments of a mosaic floor dating to the second century A.D. have been unearthed in a Roman garrison commander’s villa at the fortress of Apsaros, which is located on the coast of the Black Sea. Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski of the University of Warsaw, who works with Shota Mamuladze of the Gonio-Apsaros Museum-Reserve, said the room where the mosaic was found may have served as a bedroom, since it is located deep within the villa structure. The mosaic was originally laid over a hypocaust, or under-floor heating system. The recovered tiles, in green, black, white, red, and yellow, fell into the hypocaust when the floor collapsed, and are thought to have formed a decorative motif, but not enough of the design survives to determine what it was. “Floor mosaics were uncommon in military structures built by the ancient Romans,” Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski explained, although a well-preserved mosaic floor featuring a geometric design was found in the adjacent room during earlier excavations. To read about a Roman villa with well-preserved mosaic floors unearthed in England, go to "A Villa under the Garden."