Huge Roman frescoes buried in pieces for 1,800 years uncovered

Senior Building Material Specialist Han Li laying out decorated plaster from the Liberty site. (MOLA)

Archeologists have assembled the “world’s most difficult jigsaw puzzle” to reveal huge frescoes that once adorned a luxury villa in Roman London.

Fragments of shattered wall plaster, which were discovered during excavations by experts from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), have been meticulously pieced together to reveal frescoes that covered about 20 internal walls of the building.

The significance of the plaster pieces was not immediately apparent when they were first unearthed at a site in Southwark. Thousands of fragments were found dumped in a large pit, probably as a result of Roman demolition work carried out prior to 200 AD, MOLA said.

Han Li, senior building material specialist at MOLA, spent three months painstakingly laying out the fragments in order to restore the massive artwork, which has not been seen for more than 1,800 years.

It features painted images of fruit, flowers, birds, candelabras and stringed musical instruments popular at the time.

Another piece shows a crying woman with a hairstyle from the Flavian period (69-96 AD).

Although the exact purpose of the building has not been established, discoveries at the site suggest it was an affluent area that the MOLA team described as the “Beverly Hills” of Roman Britain.

“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,” said Li in a MOLA press release sent to CNN Thursday.

“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 archeologists, who are continuing to analyze the plasterwork in further depth, believe the paintings were inspired by designs from other parts of the Roman world.

“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,” the press release says.

The identity of one of the painters is also hinted at in a “tabula ansata,” which is a carving of a decorative tablet, which was then used to sign artwork. One plaster piece is scored with the Latin word “fecit,” meaning “has made this.” Unfortunately, the mystery of who the individual was remains as the fragment where their name should be is missing.

Elsewhere, the team discovered an etching of an almost complete Greek alphabet, which appears to have been “skillfully scored” by a “proficient writer,” according to the release. It is the only known example of its kind from Roman Britain, but similar examples have been found in Italy.

The Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD and founded Londinium, the basis of modern London, shortly afterwards. Their occupation lasted for almost 400 years, ending in 410 AD.

This is not the first discovery at the site, which is being redeveloped as The Liberty of Southwark, a complex of offices, homes and shops. Well preserved mosaics that once decorated the floor of a large room were found there in 2022, while a rare Roman mausoleum was unearthed the following year.

Article by Lianne Kolirin.