A Roman mosaic which lay forgotten in the kitchens of a Colchester hotel for 15 years could soon be on display in a more visible location.

Hidden in a cardboard box in a kitchen storeroom at the Red Lion Hotel, under stock including bread, flour and ingredients the Roman mosaic had been long forgotten.

And it was not discovered until staff were giving the High Street hotel a spring clean at the end of last year.

Now Colchester Chamber of Commerce hopes a fundraising effort will raise the £1,000 necessary to delicately restore the mosaic to its former glory.

The 4ft square mosaic was originally discovered during excavations back in 1882 and it was on display in Red Lion Walk until its redevelopment in the 1980s.

Aidan Crawte, information officer for the chamber, explained: "The mosaic was packed away in a box for safe keeping 15 years ago by staff at Colchester Castle Museum," he said.

"It ended up in the kitchen storeroom with the vegetables and was more or less forgotten about."

Mr Crawte said: "It is quite a well-known mosaic and has been published a couple of times."

It is hoped chamber members will help sponsor the conservation and restoration work on the mosaic which will be carried out by experts at the museum.

"We hope it can be mounted on the stairway leading to the restaurant in the Red Lion with a brass plaque," said Mr Crawte.

And Anne-maria Bojko, collections manager for Colchester Museums, who carefully packed the mosaic away all those years ago, was also at the chamber lunch.

"It will be nice for the mosaic to see the light of day again after all this time," she said.

"It is part of Colchester's heritage."

Miss Bojko added: "The mosaic was boxed up pending a decision on what to do with it next and it was lost in the midst of the redevelopment of Red Lion Walk."

And Shane Rolin , hotel assistant manager, agreed: "The mosaic had been completely forgotten about.

"To start we weren't sure what was in the box because it was all wrapped up and when we discovered what it was it was definitely quite a surprise," he said.

"It is a lovely mosaic and it would be wonderful to have it back on display so it can be appreciated by everyone."

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