Biggest-ever Roman wall mosaic, featuring mysterious port city, revealed

The city of Rome has revealed for the first time the biggest Roman wall mosaic ever found, and a colorful fresco painted on a 2,000-year-old wall — the culmination of a massive 14-year restoration project.

Ten meters (33 feet) high and 16 meters (52 feet) long, the Great Mosaic, as it has been named, sits beneath the the Oppian Hill, where the emperor Nero built his famed golden house between 64 and 68 AD.

“We estimate that it is the biggest wall mosaic ever found in the Roman World and we are still digging to find out where it stops,” archaeologist Francesco Pacetti said at the unveiling of the site on Tuesday.

The archaeologists said it is unclear whether the mosaic, which also dates from the 1st century AD, was part of Nero’s lavish digs, or if it was built as part of a separate private dwelling that Nero eventually incorporated.

The entire area, a stone’s throw from the Colosseum, was converted into public baths in 109 AD by the emperor Trajan, and the older Great Mosaic and the nearby “Painted City” fresco would have featured as a backdrop for bathers.

Part of the mosaic, which was first discovered during excavations in the 1990s, could not be recovered, but what remains is a colorful scene.

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It depicts a walled-in port city from a bird’s eye view, complete with public squares and towers that were not common during the 1st century AD.

The intricate details include blue and terracotta colors that have faded over time, depicting various scenes playing out in the port city — almost like a theatrical performance.

At the top of the mosaic are close ups of various characters as if they are watching the action below in the port.

They include a life-size bearded philosopher and his muse, several statues and a young poet, plus a theatrical stage with columns, garlands and vegetal swirls, all enhanced with blue and white marble and gemstones to create the effect of the sun shining on the sea.

Experts don’t yet know whether the scenes represent a utopian port city or a real place in the ancient Roman world.

“It could be a real place or an imagined city, we are not sure,” Pacetti said, adding that no known city has the same recognizable features, but that a port may have had them at the time when the mosaic was created.

The newly restored “Painted City” fresco, which sits between two pillars at the entrance to the area where the mosaic was found, was also discovered during excavations in the 1990s.

Also dated to the 1st century, the 10-square-meter (108-square-foot) fresco is as detailed as the mosaic, with scenes depicting a walled city, with a port entrance gate, roads, a theater and a temple.

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Archaeologists are currently working to expose another area of the mosaic, which shows a grape harvest and wine-making.

The entire site, which encompasses the expansive 60,000-square-meter (15-acre) ruins of Trajan’s Baths and its exedra — a large semicircle supporting wall complete with cut-out shelves, suggesting the baths were also used as an ancient library — will soon be used to host book launches, in a nod to its original use as a library, Rome officials said.

Viewing walkways have been installed, as well as lighting that helps reveal the intricate details of both the mosaic and the fresco.

“We are giving this unique wonder back to the city,” Roberto Gualtieri, the mayor of Rome, said at the inauguration.

罗马城首次公开了迄今为止发现的最大的罗马墙壁马赛克，以及绘制在2000年前墙壁上的彩色壁画——这是历时14年的大规模修复工程的最终成果。

这座名为“大马赛克”的马赛克高 10 米（33 英尺），长 16 米（52 英尺），位于奥皮安山下。公元 64 年至 68 年间，尼禄皇帝在奥皮安山上建造了他著名的金宫。

“我们估计这是罗马世界迄今为止发现的最大的墙壁马赛克，我们仍在挖掘以找出它的尽头，”考古学家弗朗切斯科·帕切蒂在周二的遗址揭幕仪式上说。

考古学家表示，目前尚不清楚这幅同样可以追溯到公元1世纪的马赛克是尼禄奢华挖掘工程的一部分，还是作为尼禄最终纳入其中的独立私人住宅的一部分而建造的。

整个区域距离斗兽场仅咫尺之遥，于公元 109 年被图拉真皇帝改建为公共浴场，而更古老的大马赛克和附近的“彩绘城市”壁画则成为了沐浴者的背景。

这幅马赛克镶嵌画最初是在 20 世纪 90 年代的挖掘工作中发现的，其中一部分已经无法找回，但剩下的部分仍然是一幅色彩斑斓的画面。

菲利波·蒙特福特/法新社/盖蒂图片社

它从鸟瞰视角描绘了一座被城墙环绕的港口城市，其中有公共广场和塔楼，这在公元 1 世纪并不常见。

精细的细节包括随着时间推移而褪色的蓝色和赤陶色，描绘了港口城市上演的各种场景——几乎就像一场戏剧表演。

马赛克顶部是各种人物的特写镜头，仿佛他们正在观看港口下方的景象。

其中包括一位真人大小的留着胡子的哲学家和他的缪斯，几尊雕像和一位年轻诗人，以及一个带有柱子、花环和植物漩涡的舞台，所有这些都用蓝色和白色的大理石和宝石加以装饰，以营造出阳光照射在海上的效果。

专家们目前尚不清楚这些场景描绘的是一个乌托邦式的港口城市，还是古罗马世界中的一个真实地点。

帕切蒂说：“这可能是一个真实存在的地方，也可能是一个想象中的城市，我们并不确定。”他还补充说，目前还没有哪个已知的城市拥有这些可辨识的特征，但在马赛克创作时期，某个港口城市可能拥有这些特征。

新近修复的“彩绘城市”壁画位于马赛克发现区域入口处的两根柱子之间，也是在 20 世纪 90 年代的挖掘中发现的。

这幅面积为 10 平方米（108 平方英尺）的壁画也可追溯到公元 1 世纪，其细节与马赛克一样丰富，描绘了一座有城墙的城市，包括港口入口、道路、剧院和寺庙。

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非法挖掘揭示了一座宏伟的罗马别墅，别墅内有精美的马赛克镶嵌画。

考古学家目前正在努力发掘马赛克的另一部分，该部分描绘了葡萄采摘和酿酒的场景。

罗马官员表示，整个遗址占地 6 万平方米（15 英亩），包括图拉真浴场及其半圆形壁龛（一面巨大的半圆形支撑墙，上面有镂空书架，表明浴场也曾被用作古代图书馆），不久将用于举办新书发布会，以纪念其最初作为图书馆的用途。

这里安装了观景走道和照明设施，有助于展现马赛克和壁画的精细细节。

“我们将这一独特的奇观归还给这座城市，”罗马市长罗伯托·瓜尔蒂耶里在落成典礼上说道。