Abstrakt
Viewing various species of birds, especially the peacock, pheasant, guinea fowl, partridge, duck, is a frequent motif on floor mosaics with a garden theme in the Roman world. There are also wall frescoes depicting gardens full of birdlife for example from Livia's house at Primaporta near Rome from the 1st century AD and from a house at Virunum (today's Zollfelds) in the Roman province of Noricum from the 2nd century AD.
But does it reflect keeping birds in garden itself? On some particular sites are remains of architectural structures reckoned as aviaries, which will be displayed on example from the Roman province of Gaul on Mané-Véchen site from the 3rd century AD and for further comparison those from Maison de Voliére in Carthage in province of North Africa from the beginning of the 3rd century AD. Either many types of cages are painted on garden frescoes or it is possible to rely on literary sources as well.
Thus the iconographic sources represent a graphic image transmission of an aviary or a hunting park, in analogy to the mosaics in North Africa, which belonged to the villa and which is otherwise difficult to prove. It may also represent an aucupium, hunting wild birds within venatia/munera, which is mentioned in Palladius' s work.
Similarly in this way is also reflected a higher social status of the villa owner. Based on literary, iconographic and archaeological sources it is obvious that birds were kept in Roman gardens for pleasure or some use.
The meaning of bird's presence in locus amoenus is still not sufficiently clarified.