Roman revelation: Biggest ancient monumental wall mosaic unveiled after 2,000 years

Euronews ^ | September 9, 2026 | Ilaria Cicinelli & Tokunbo Salako

[SunkenCiv]

Trajan's Baths in Oppian Hill will host a new museum where visitors to Rome can admire the Great Mosaic and the Painted City, two massive ancient artworks buried near the Colosseum that are estimated to date from the 1st century... 

The "Painted City" fresco and "Great Mosaic" were discovered in an underground gallery during excavations in the 1990s of the Baths of Trajan on the Oppian Hill near the Colosseum. 

After being hidden underground for centuries, its blues and terracotta colors are still clear but faded... 

The Painted City is a ten-square-metre fresco belonging to a building that predates Trajan's Baths, dating from the first century AD, depicting a city seen from above. 

In the monumental wall mosaic "The Muse and the Philosopher", located in a large hall overlooking a nymphaeum, a Roman harbour is depicted in detail. It is not known whether it is real or imaginary, although some scholars have suggested it could be the final resting place of emperor Claudius. 

...finds made beneath the decoration have made it possible to reconstruct an original space that was much taller, with walls that must have risen to around 12 metres... 

To assess the impact of visitor numbers on the conservation of the works, the first visits will be organised on an experimental basis for small groups at weekends only, with free guided tours by reservation, starting on 12 and 13 September.

---

TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs; mosaics; oppianhill; romanempire; trajan

[SunkenCiv]

subtitled, A restored 15-metre section of the ancient mosaic from the "La Città Dipinta" site, discovered in the late 1990s

[SunkenCiv]

The Trajan Bath Museum photos I've found have been AP, which are not allowed on FR. Sooo....

...mosaic flooring and a sculpture of the head of Eros, the god of love, have been uncovered in the basilica in the ancient city of Pompeiopolis, which is located in northern Turkey's Black Sea region. Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy said that the basilica was constructed in the second half of the second century A.D. Found in a side section of the basilica, the Eros head dates to this period. The flooring, which features geometric designs, covers an estimated area of more than 1,100 square feet in the basilica's central nave, he added. This floor has been dated to the fourth century A.D.

• Roman-Era Mosaic Floor Unearthed in Northern Turkey | Archaeology Magazine | September 9, 2026

  Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism

  

[BenLurkin]

bttt

[SunkenCiv]

https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/12157

1st c. Apollo mosaic found under Rome’s Oppian Hill

July 30, 2011

https://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Apollo-mosaic.jpg

https://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/dig-under-Terme-di-Traiano.jpg

https://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/columns-mosaic.jpg

https://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Centaur-mosaic.jpg

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks for the link!

[SunkenCiv]

It all started in the late Nineties with the casual discovery of the extraordinary fresco of the “Painted City”, an entire city (but perhaps at least two) with white walls, doors, streets, squares, theaters, loggias and turrets. We are in the park on the Oppian Hill, a few steps from the Colosseum, that houses the imposing remains of the Baths of Trajan, whose construction at the beginning of the 2nd century AD buried a city district occupied until then by imperial properties and buildings — the Domus Aurea and much more.

https://www.turismoroma.it/sites/default/files/criptoportico%20COP2.jpg
Foto sovraintendenzaroma.it

The secrets of the Oppian Hill’s cryptoporticus revealed in a video
from 4 March 2021 to 31 July 2021
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/news/secrets-oppian-hill%E2%80%99s-cryptoporticus-revealed-video

[jerod]

Interesting stuff...

[tet68]

nymphaeum

I don’t know what it is but I WANT ONE!!!

[Jamestown1630]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphaeum

[tet68]

Thanks, now bring on the nymphs!

[SunkenCiv]

In the meantime:

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4394846/posts

[Eli Kopter]

I have toured a few roman baths circa the same Roman occupation in Israel and was always impressed with the artwork they provided on the walls of their steam rooms.

[Jamestown1630]

Beware nympholepsy, a dangerous fascination!

[SunkenCiv]

The cook’s bedroom in the House of the Vettei (Pompeii) has x-rated frescos. 🫢

[Eli Kopter]

I have imagined all kinds of things happening in that day, much like the modern-day bath houses.

[SunkenCiv]

Yup. But those are the AP photos.

[MikelTackNailer]

I wish more art from the Roman era had survived time. It’s obvious they not only mastered three dimensionalality but weren’t beyond exaggerating for dramatic effect. Special note on how the Muse was done with great care to accent her femininity with fashionable clothing style flattering her figure.

So much was lost due to recycling building material post-Empire along with who knows how many mosaic masterpieces. At least excavation and preservation continues at Herculaneum, Pompeii and lesser known sites still being uncovered.

[SunkenCiv]

You’re right of course, the overall percentage is probably low, partly as a consequence of demolition and reuse, and partly due to the sheer amount of construction the Romans did.

During the early Middle Ages, bunches of marble statuary was dragged off to lime kilns and recycled as lime mortar. What a bunch of knuckle-dragging barbarian a-holes, huh?

There’s probably still oodles of stuff buried underneath later construction.