But the ornament itself, whether in single border or in many-stranded panels of plaitwork, occurs not rarely in Italy as well as in thoroughly Romanized lands like southern Spain and southern Gaul and Africa, and also in Greece and Asia Minor.

It is a classical, not a British pattern.
[Footnote 1: It has been suggested that these mosaics were principally laid by itinerant Italians.

The idea is, of course, due to modern analogies.

It does not seem quite impossible, since the work is in a sense that of an artist, and the pay might have been high enough to attract stray decorators of good standing from the Continent.

However, no evidence exists to prove this or even to make it probable.