One of the most frustrating things about studying the ancient past, in an capacity, really, is that sometimes we’re left with a bunch of pieces that we have to fit together in order to understand a bigger picture.

Archaeologists studying Londininum, the precursor to modern London, were faced with a physical manifestation of this existential crises when they discovered a huge ancient fresco…in pieces.

The colorful frescoes decorated the interior walls of an impressive villa, built between 43 and 150 CE. They were destroyed somehow before 200 CE, leaving behind a giant pile of smashed plaster fragments.

Enter modern archaeologists, who were determined to put this puzzle together 1800 years later. It took them months, but building material specialist at Museum of London Archaeology Han Li says they have done it.

“It’s one of the biggest – if not the biggest – assemblages of Roman wall plaster and paintings we’ve ever found in Roman London.

They discovered the fragments in 2021 and 2022 during the excavation phase of a construction site. The pieces from different walls were all jumbled together, and most of the fragments were very fragile.

This, in addition to the fact that they didn’t have a picture of what it is supposed to look like, made putting it back together a huge challenge.

Li says that as they separated pieces by color and partial images, it began to seem possible.

“Slowly, I realized, ‘Oh, my God.’ … The scale of what we can put back together and the amount of decorations, the diversity of motifs, it was incredible. Within a few days, we realized just how much potential this had in terms of telling us about Roman paintings and…indeed Roman archaeology.”

The colors and depictions of the fresco suggest the villa’s owner was wealthy and perhaps a high-status individual in town, or was possible an upscale hotel for travelers.

Ancient graffiti also adorned some of the fragments, mostly the Greek alphabet, which hints that the villa could also have been used for commercial purposes, such as a storage facility. Either way, Li says it proved the Romans were investing in London during that period.

“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 artist’s signature is missing, but researchers believe they could tentatively link him to other projects in the area that use similar color schemes.

“They’ve come to Roman London where there was a building boom, with many houses and many buildings going up that required painting. And they went around essentially taking on huge commissions of work.”

It’s pretty cool.

I sure am glad they didn’t get to the end and find out there were pieces missing, though.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.