Ancient Roman masterpieces emerge from a London demolition pit

LONDON — A remarkable archaeological endeavor in the heart of the British capital has brought to light one of the most extensive collections of painted Roman wall plaster ever unearthed in the city.

Thousands of vibrant fragments, which once adorned a high-status Roman building, offer an unprecedented glimpse into the artistic sophistication and daily life of ancient Londinium, and their rearrangement is showcasing artworks that have remained hidden for over 1,800 years.

The discovery, made at “The Liberty” development site in the city’s Southwark neighborhood, builds upon previous significant finds in the area, including intricate mosaics and a rare Roman mausoleum.

The sheer volume of the plaster fragments, however, was not immediately apparent to archaeologists.

The material was found discarded in a sizable pit, shattered as a consequence of Roman-era demolition activities that occurred before A.D. 200.

The painstaking process of reassembling these fragments has been a monumental undertaking, experts say, akin to solving an immense historical puzzle.

Leading this intricate reconstruction effort was the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) where Han Li, the senior building material specialist, spent three months meticulously laying out and piecing together the fragments.

The result is a stunning restoration that allows these ancient frescoes to be viewed in their original splendor for the first time in nearly two millennia.

“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,” Li said in a MOLA press release.

“Many of the fragments were very delicate and pieces from different walls had been jumbled together when the building was demolished,” well before the Romans had abandoned Britain as their empire began to recede, he said. “The result was seeing wall paintings that even individuals of the late Roman period in London would not have seen.”

The recovered artworks depict bright yellow panel designs interspersed with black sections, exquisitely decorated with motifs of birds, fruit, flowers and lyres.

Such panel designs were a common feature in Roman wall decoration, according to MOLA, but the prevalence of yellow panels was unusual. Similar designs have been identified at only a handful of sites across Britain, including the opulent Fishbourne Roman Palace, about 60 miles to the southwest of this site.

Beyond their aesthetic appeal, the fragments offer unique insights into Roman artistry and literacy. Among the more than 120 boxes of painted plaster, archaeologists uncovered what appears to be the first known example of a painter’s signature in Roman Britain.

Framed by a tabula ansata — a decorative tablet that’s typically used to sign artworks — the inscription includes the Latin word ‘FECIT,’ meaning “has made [this].” But the section bearing the artist’s name is missing, leaving their identity a mystery.

Further intriguing details include ancient graffiti left by the building’s occupants or visitors. One fragment features a nearly complete ancient Greek alphabet, the only known instance of such an inscription from Roman Britain.

The precise scoring of the letters suggests a skilled hand, indicating it was not merely writing practice but possibly served a practical purpose, such as a checklist or reference. Another piece reveals the face of a weeping woman, depicted with a hairstyle characteristic of the Flavian period, which dated from A.D. 69-96.

The artistic influences evident in these frescoes extend beyond Britain, drawing inspiration from wall decorations found in other parts of the Roman Empire, such as Xanten and Cologne in Germany, and Lyon in France. Some fragments even mimic high-status wall tiles, such as red Egyptian porphyry and African giallo antico marble, styles also seen in Londinium north of the River Thames, the southern English town of Colchester, and Pompeii in Italy.

London was originally founded as a city — Londinium — soon after the Roman invasion in A.D. 43, and has consistently yielded significant archaeological treasures. In recent years, numerous excavations have unearthed remnants of Roman roads, buildings and artifacts, continuously reshaping historians’ understanding of this ancient metropolis.

The sheer scale and detail of the Southwark plaster collection provide an unparalleled opportunity, according to MOLA, to study Roman domestic art and the lives of its inhabitants.

Research into each plaster piece is ongoing, with Han Li and his MOLA colleagues continuing to analyze the work of these ancient painters. Their efforts will involve comparing the Liberty wall paintings with other examples from Britain and the broader Roman world.

The findings will be published, and the fragments archived for future academic study, with plans for eventual public display, allowing contemporary audiences to witness these extraordinary artistic legacies from a bygone era.