It is believed that the bikini was a 20th century invention, but an ancient mosaic reveals women in Rome wore it while playing sports. The Villa Romana del Casale, located in Sicily, dates back to the early fourth century AD. Among the ruins, archeologists have discovered one of the largest collections of ancient Roman mosaics. All of them are surprisingly well preserved.

One of the rooms of the villa is called Sala delle Dieci Ragazze, which can be translated as “Room of the Ten Girls” – based on the number of those depicted in the floor mosaic. Eight of them wear what in the modern world would be called a two-piece bikini, another woman wears a yellow translucent dress, while the image of the only one figure has not survived to this day.