Mosaic of the Bulls and the Banquet

Mosaic depicting a banquet scene with bulls. Five male figures sit along a curved dining couch in the shape of an arena wall (stibadium)with a single goblet on it. Above each of these figures is an associated inscription. [N] OS NVDI [F] IEMVS; BIBERE VENIMVS; IA(M) MVLTV(V) LOQVIMINI; AVOCEMVR; NOS TRES TENEMVS (Dunbabin 1978 p.78). These inscriptions translate to: "We shall strip off"; "We have come to drink"; "You are talking too much"; Let us enjoy ourselves"; "We hold three" (Dunbabin 2016, p.205). Each of these figures also have a distinctive attribution: the first man on the left holds an upraised cordiform leaf and has another decorated on the sleeve of his right arm; the next two men both wear crowns, one with three spikes topped with an 'S", the other with five spikes topped by a fish respectively; the last two men on the right each hold a an object, the former a stalk of millet and the latter a staff topped with a crescent moon (Dunbabin 1978: p.78). In front of the table two attendants stand on either side of a large mixing-bowl and a small table with two jugs on it. The attendant on the left holds his finger to his mouth and the one on the right offers a cup to the men sitting around the table. Between the attendants is the inscription: SILENTIV(M) DORMIANT TAVRI, which translates to "Silence, let the bulls sleep" (Dunbabin 2016: p.205). In front of the attendants are five zebu bulls lying asleep. Each of the bulls have a mark on its hindquarters as identified by Dunbabin: a cordiform leaf, a fish, a millet-stalk a heavy-armed gladiator, and a mark that appears to be a sistrum (Dunbabin 1978: p.78).