London’s largest ancient Roman mural makes the “world’s most difficult puzzle puzzle” huge
One of the extraordinary things about a city like London that has lived in nearly 200,000 years is that no matter where the developers choose to build it, there are some relics buried underground in the past. Archaeologists are often asked to go to new development sites to carefully verify the existence of everything from early structures to centuries-old cemeteries, or not. In the place where the Romans were founded shortly after 43 AD, we occasionally glimpse the amazing discoveries that were more than 1,000 years ago.
This year, a team of researchers at the London Museum of Archaeology (MOLA) have been working hard at a development site called Freedom, which has revealed ancient mosaics and mausoleums. But discoveries keep coming. The city’s largest painted Roman plaster ever scattered in debris, found at least 1,800 years in rubble.
The first structure on the site appeared between 43 and 150 AD, and the walls of the mural would stand in high-ranking Roman buildings. Sometime before 200 AD, the building was demolished and gypsum fragments were discarded in the pit. Since then, it has been the dream opportunity for Mora researchers.
Han Li, a senior building materials expert at Mola, spent three months reconfiguring the artwork with the help of researchers. He explained that when the building was demolished, the debris were chaotic, so figured out how the originally made mural was made. “It’s like forming the hardest puzzle game in the world,” he said.
Even the most avid puzzle fans will love this type of puzzle is a true thought bendinger – no pictures to compare. But there are clues. This era of Roman painting usually combined colored panels with border patterns and elements that mimic slates such as porphyry without much expense or labor, hauling so much material. While this work is quite representative of the style, the use of colors is particularly rare and found in several very luxurious buildings in the UK
The mural also tells the stories of tourists and passers-by leaving graffiti, including an image of a crying woman in the Flavian period (69-96 AD) and carved Greek letters. It is believed that the latter could have achieved practical purposes, such as counting papers or lists.
A special detail in the so-called Tabula ansata, The engraving of the decorative tablet used by Roman artists to sign works. It contains the Latin word “Fecit”, which means “has been done.” Sadly, the part where the artist’s name appears is too destructive to be sure, so their identity may remain a mystery.
Explore more Mola discoveries and projects on its website.
