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Roman revelation: Biggest ancient monumental wall mosaic unveiled after 2,000 years
Euronews ^ | September 9, 2026 | Ilaria Cicinelli & Tokunbo Salako

Posted on 09/09/2026 12:34:04 PM PDT by 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.

(Excerpt) Read more at euronews.com ...


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

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

1 posted on 09/09/2026 12:34:04 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
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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.

2 posted on 09/09/2026 12:35:48 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills and jihadists anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: SunkenCiv

bttt


3 posted on 09/09/2026 12:36:13 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is opinion or satire. Or both.)
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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


4 posted on 09/09/2026 12:37:00 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills and jihadists anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...
Thanks for the link!

5 posted on 09/09/2026 12:37:57 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills and jihadists anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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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


6 posted on 09/09/2026 12:41:09 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills and jihadists anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: SunkenCiv
Interesting stuff...


7 posted on 09/09/2026 12:47:13 PM PDT by jerod (Nazis were essentially Socialist in Hugo Boss uniforms... Get over it!)
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To: SunkenCiv

nymphaeum

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


8 posted on 09/09/2026 12:49:49 PM PDT by tet68 ("We would not die in that man's company that fears his fellowship to die with us." Henry V.)
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To: tet68

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


9 posted on 09/09/2026 1:01:41 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Jamestown1630
Thanks, now bring on the nymphs!
10 posted on 09/09/2026 1:06:26 PM PDT by tet68 ("We would not die in that man's company that fears his fellowship to die with us." Henry V.)
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To: tet68

In the meantime:

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


11 posted on 09/09/2026 1:06:50 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills and jihadists anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: SunkenCiv

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.


12 posted on 09/09/2026 1:20:01 PM PDT by Eli Kopter (B''H We are given a new day today, with new choices. Choose wisely!)
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To: tet68

Beware nympholepsy, a dangerous fascination!


13 posted on 09/09/2026 1:27:52 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Eli Kopter

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


14 posted on 09/09/2026 4:43:06 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills and jihadists anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: SunkenCiv

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


15 posted on 09/09/2026 5:10:58 PM PDT by Eli Kopter (B''H We are given a new day today, with new choices. Choose wisely!)
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To: jerod

Yup. But those are the AP photos.


16 posted on 09/09/2026 7:12:01 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills and jihadists anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: SunkenCiv

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.


17 posted on 09/09/2026 7:21:18 PM PDT by MikelTackNailer (The future isn't like I remembered it to be.)
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To: MikelTackNailer

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.


18 posted on 09/09/2026 8:13:05 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (TDS -- it's not just for DNC shills and jihadists anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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