Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Archaeologists have pieced together thousands of fragments of 2,000-year-old wall plaster to reveal remarkable frescoes that decorated a luxurious Roman villa. The shattered plaster was discovered in 2021 at a site in central London that’s being redeveloped, but it’s taken until now to reconstruct this colossal jigsaw puzzle. The frescoes are from at least 20 walls of the building, with beautifully painted details of musical instruments, birds, flowers and fruit. The art is revealing more about the affluence of the area where they were found – described by the team as the ‘Beverly Hills of Roman London’. There are also clues about who the artists were: one fragment is scored with the Latin word Fecit (which means ‘has made this’), but the piece where the name should be is missing. The Museum of London Archaeology (Mola) team still hope the vital piece will be found as they sift through the fragments.” (06/19/25)