The decision to lift the Cupid on the Dolphin mosaic at Fishbourne Roman Palace, England, was taken after unsuccessful attempts were made to prevent the detachment of the tesserae from the matrix by injecting bonding material. The lifting of the mosaic and subsequent excavations under a layer of mortar and 50 cm layer of rubble revealed another earlier mosaic floor, 25% of it which still survives. The design of this newly discovered mosaic is particularly interesting. It consists of a central panel with different geometric patterns set in squares. Enough of the mosaic remains to enable us to assume that each pattern was different from the other. Around the panel is a border which appears to represent the town's defenses. This type of mosaic decoration, while being the only one of its kind in Britain, was used in Italy in the 1st century AD. Once this mosaic has been lifted and re-laid elsewhere, the Cupid on the Dolphin mosaic will be replaced in its original position.