An extraordinary archaeological discovery in London Bridge has sparked speculation that Southwark could have been a suburban escape favoured by Rome’s elites.
Archaeologists have painstakingly pieced together thousands of tiny fragments of wall plaster discovered around London Bridge and Borough market stations, revealing an illustrious piece of Roman wall art which is thought to have once adorned 20 internal walls of a luxurious Roman villa.
The house was demolished sometime after AD200, with the fragments tossed into a pit where they have lain undiscovered for almost 2,000 years.
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 fragments – which are mostly bright yellow in colour and feature images of birds, fruit, flowers, and lyres (harps) – are of a kind which have only been found in a handful of sites across the country, including Fishbourne Roman Palace in Sussex, but finding repeating yellow panels like these is even rarer.
The decorative panels suggest Southwark could have been a suburb favoured by Rome’s most well-heeled elite to escape the hustle and bustle of the city – and has been described by the archeological team as the “Beverly Hills of London”.
“There was this thriving, bustling settlement quite early on in the Roman period, and it’s almost the kind of wealthy suburb – the Beverly Hills of Roman London,” said Andrew Henderson-Schwartz from Mola.
“And what this shows is that the Romans are committing to London. They’re investing in London, and they’re seeing it as a place to settle in, a place to stay. It’s not just a kind of provincial outpost.”
The 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.
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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.
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.
“I was lucky to have been helped by my colleagues in other specialist teams for helping me arrange this titanic puzzle as well as interpret ornaments and inscriptions – including Ian Betts and the British School at Rome – who gave me their invaluable opinions and resources.
“The result was seeing wall paintings that even individuals of the late Roman period in London would not have seen.”
The Romans occupied London in AD43, and it is believed the villa was built some time after this before AD150. At some point before AD 200 the building was demolished and the wall plaster dumped into a pit.
Nearly all history is interesting, and much of it, exciting.
Though I suspect here, given the site’s location – without the City’s Boundary, it may possibly, well have been, Lawks … a Brothel!
If so, then well, everyone’s got to live, maintain an Honourable Tradiion (See ‘Eve’ for details) and earn a crust! And, where there’s a need, and a gap in the (Borough…) Market, Private Enterprise will usually fill it – Carpe Diem!
Time may show the way!