Month of September (Mes de Septiembre)

This mosaic depicts a galloping horse in a right-lead counter canter, and an edible thistle. Both evoke the games and the grape harvest to represent the month of September. Rome's most important games were held in this month and peaked during the Late Roman Empire. The thorny plant on the animal—which has also been linked to another herbaceous variety, the artichoke—must be a thistle. Pliny called these plants, which were typically planted around the first of September, a natural monstrosity.

This mosaic was among 12 pieces that decorated the south corridor, representing the 12 months of the agricultural year. All the mosaics exhibit a variety of colors and are made up of different colored stone tesserae.