2023-12-12 20:18:00
This “domus” is decorated with an “extraordinary wall mosaic”, declared the Italian Minister of Culture, made up of shells, precious glass and marble.
The Italian Ministry of Culture announced this Tuesday, December 12, the discovery of a luxurious Roman “domus” more than 2,000 years old, including an “incomparable” mosaic made up of shells, fragments of glass and marble.
This “domus”, a villa built by the rich Romans, is located in the heart of the Colosseum Archaeological Park and is an “authentic treasure”, according to the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, quoted in a press release.
The domus rises on several floors “and what makes the discovery exceptional is the existence of an extraordinary wall mosaic (…) incomparable due to the complexity of the scenes created”, underlines the press release.
A mosaic made of shells and marble
Situated around an atrium, the main room is a cave-shaped banquet hall, which was used during the summer.
The wall mosaic dates from “the last decades of the 2nd century BC.” and it is made with “various types of shells, Egyptian blue tesserae, precious glass, small fragments of marble or other types of stone”, among others.
In this work, three large ships ride waves toward a coastal town, whose walls are dotted with small towers and porticos, in a scene that suggests that the owner of the domus was victorious in battle.
Also seen among the vines and lotus leaves are piles of weapons with Celtic-style trumpets, warships and tridents, “perhaps alluding to a double triumph, land and sea, of the owner of the domus”.
This photo released by the Italian Ministry of Culture on December 12, 2023 shows mosaics discovered in a luxurious Roman house near the Colosseum. – HANDOUT / ITALIAN MINISTRY OF CULTURE This photo released by the Italian Ministry of Culture on December 12, 2023 shows shells in mosaics discovered in a luxurious Roman house near the Colosseum. – HANDOUT / ITALIAN MINISTRY OF CULTURE This photo released by the Italian Ministry of Culture on December 12, 2023 shows shells in mosaics discovered in a luxurious Roman house near the Colosseum. – HANDOUT / ITALIAN MINISTRY OF CULTURE
The owner, a nobleman probably senator, is also said to have created “spectacular water features” for his guests, using lead pipes placed between the decorated walls.
Unearthed by archaeologists who discovered a series of walls in 2018, the domus has several floors. So far, only a few pieces have been explored and excavations will continue until 2024.
There is “a fascinating representation” of a landscape, with a coastal town and a cliff, simulated in travertine, facing “the sea crisscrossed by three large ships, one with hoisted sails”, the press release continues.
“We will work intensively to make this place, one of the most suggestive of ancient Rome, accessible to the public as quickly as possible,” promised Alfonsina Russo, head of the Colosseum Archaeological Park.
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