Paintwork from the earliest days of London was recently uncovered in Southwark. Challenging jigsaw puzzle ensues.
It was one of the greatest London archaeological finds of the century so far. Back in 2022, Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) revealed a series of Roman floor mosaics at a dig in Southwark, next to the rail viaduct on Southwark Street. Phrases like "once in a lifetime discovery" were bandied about.
But the site had further treasures to reveal. Archaeologists also uncovered a series of frescoes — sadly not still clinging to the wall, but smashed into thousands of fragments. The paintings had been reduced to rubble in Roman times, and buried in a pit. The building has been dated to somewhere between the Roman invasion of AD 43 and AD150, making these fresco fragments among the very earliest works of art found in settled London.
Cue an extremely challenging jigsaw puzzle. It took three months to figure out how the pieces fitted together — a task complicated by the delicate nature of the plaster. Now, for the first time in at least 1800 years, our eyes can once again gaze over the patterns. Here's how MOLA describes them:
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.
Tantalisingly, we almost got the artist's name. One of the fragments contains the word 'FECIT' meaning 'made this'. However, the piece containing the name of London's first artist seems not to have survived.
The findings are particularly exciting because they come from Southwark rather than the better characterised site of Londoninium, north of the river. The building may have been a private dwelling, or perhaps a kind of hotel for wealthy travellers visiting the city.
It's hoped that the fragments can go on public display, along with the mosaics from the site. Meanwhile, the site is now being developed into a residential-led site called The Liberty. I think we can now guess the colour scheme of its lobby.
