Museum Gallery

Roman seafood mosaic

Roman seafood mosaic. Mosaics consist of small pieces of coloured glass or stone, used to form an image or pattern on a floor or wall. This marine fauna mosaic is from the House of the Faun, in Pompeii, Italy, and accurately depicts over twenty forms of fish, shellfish and eels. At centre, an octopus attacks a lobster. Surrounding them are dogfish, morays, sea basses, sea breams, mullets, and electric rays. This mosaic is displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy

© SHEILA TERRY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Mendeleyevs periodic table, 1869

Mendeleyev's periodic table, 1869. Mendeleyev's periodic table of 1869. This is the first version of the periodic table drawn up by the Russian chemist Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleyev (1834-1907). He left gaps in the table for new elements, that were indeed later discovered, vindicating his theory. This version has the elements listed using chemical symbols, and ordered by atomic weight, but the fully correct chemical arrangement has not yet emerged. The final version (1871) had the elements arranged in the familiar vertical columns or groups. This version is dated (lower left) to 17 February 1869, and Mendeleyev's name is at top. This manuscript is from the Mendeleyev museum. Photographed in St Petersburg, Russia. See also H413/297

© RIA NOVOSTI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

LCC-MFB Red Cross Street fire station and engine, London LFB150

Red Cross Street fire station, City of London, built by the London County Council (LCC) and opened in 1900. It was one of four fire stations (plus a river station at Blackfriars) contained within the City of London. The picture shows its horse drawn pumps parading on the forecourt of the station. Date: 1900

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015