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Headline: RAW VIDEO: Stunning Example Of Decorative Roman Plaster Work Found On London Building Site
Caption: Archaeologists have discovered one of Britain’s most stunning examples of decorative Roman plaster work on a building site near London’s Borough Market. These beautiful frescoes once decorated around twenty internal walls of an early Roman (AD 43-150) building. They were discovered at ‘The Liberty’ development site in Southwark, where excavations were led by MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) on behalf of Landsec. The decorated plaster was found dumped in a large pit, shattered in thousands of fragments – the result of Roman demolition works which took place at some point before AD 200. It took three months for MOLA Senior Building Material Specialist Han Li to lay out all the fragments and painstakingly piece the designs back together. Now, for the first time in over 1800 years, these vibrant artworks can be reconstructed to reveal their full glory. These paintings were designed to show off both the wealth and excellent taste of the building’s owner or owners. They include bright yellow panel designs with black intervals beautifully decorated with images of birds, fruit, flowers, and lyres. While panel designs were common during the Roman period, yellow panels weren't. They have been identified at only a few sites across the country, which include Fishbourne Roman Palace, one of Britain’s most luxurious Roman residences. Finding repeating yellow panels like these is even rarer. MOLA Senior Building Material Specialist Han Li said: “This has been a ‘once in a lifetime’ moment, so I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness when I started to lay the plaster out. Many of the fragments were very delicate and pieces from different walls had been jumbled together when the building was demolished, so it was like assembling the world’s most difficult jigsaw puzzle.” The group or groups of painters responsible also took inspiration from wall decorations in other parts of the Roman world – such as Xanten and Cologne in Germany, and Lyon in France. Some fragments imitate high status wall tiles, such as red Egyptian porphyry (a crystal speckled volcanic stone) framing the elaborate veins of African giallo antico (a yellow marble). Styles like these have been found north of the river in Londinium, in Colchester, Germany, and Pompeii. Excitingly, among more than 120 boxes of painted plaster is a tangible link to the artist: the remains of their signature – the first known example in Britain. This is framed by a tabula ansata, a carving of a decorative tablet used to sign artwork in the Roman world. It contains the Latin word ‘FECIT’ which translates to “has made this”. Tragically, the fragment is broken where the painter’s name would have appeared, meaning their identity will likely never be known. The plaster also reveals traces left behind by the building’s owners and visitors – in the form of ancient graffiti. This includes an etching of a near complete Greek alphabet – the only known example of this inscription from Roman Britain. The skillfully scored letters suggest that it was done by a proficient writer and not someone undertaking writing practice. Another fragment features the face of a crying woman with a Flavian period (AD 69-96) hairstyle. Work to further explore each piece of plaster continues. Han Li, with the help from his MOLA colleagues, will continue to analyse the work by this group or groups of painters, comparing the Liberty wall paintings to others from Britain and the wider Roman world. The results will be published and fragments archived for future study, as well as made available for temporary or permanent display.
Keywords: feature,video,photo,rome,archaeology,roman,london,history,art
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