Frescoes reveal Southwark was the ‘Beverly Hills of Londinium’

South London is seen as the scruffier side of the capital, but an extraordinary archaeological find suggests the region’s origins are a little grander.

Han Li from the Museum of London Archaeology examines the fragments of painted plaster. Picture: AFP / Museum of London Archaeology

South London has always been seen as the scruffier, rough-around-the-edges side of the capital – a fact that some born south of the River Thames embrace with great pride.

However, an extraordinary archaeological find suggests that the region’s origins are a little grander than originally believed.

In the course of excavations in Southwark conducted earlier this year, archaeologists found thousands of fragments of painted plaster dating back to the early Roman occupation of the site where modern London now stands, which began in AD43.

But only after a team led by Han Li from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) put the pieces back together did archaeologists realise they had made a “once in a lifetime” discovery: one of the largest collections of painted frescoes ever found in the capital, which most likely decorated a luxurious “suburban” villa situated outside the hustle and bustle of Londinium.

Li said the project was “like assembling the world’s most difficult jigsaw puzzle”, but once complete it emerged that the frescoes were covered with images of flowers, birds and lyres – a Roman stringed instrument similar to a harp – which once decorated as many as 20 internal walls.

Many of the panels are bright yellow, which until now had only been seen at a few sites across the country, including Fishbourne Roman Palace, one of Britain’s most luxurious Roman residences.

The museum said the “repeating yellow panels” found in Southwark were even rarer, and that the unknown artists had taken inspiration from decorations in other parts of the Roman world, such as Pompeii, suggesting a well-travelled and professional group.

The Romans settled in London because it was the last crossing point on the Thames before it reached the sea, building a bridge across the river just a few years after their arrival.

While Londinium’s main footprint was north of the river in what is now the financial City, including a grand forum where Leadenhall Market now stands, this new find suggests that the Romans were committed to building outside the Square Mile too.

“The discoveries on this site really add to our understanding of what life was like in the area, relatively early on in the Roman period,” Andrew Henderson-Schwartz, the museum’s head of public impact, told The Times.

“Alongside the mosaics previously found on site and an array of other artefacts, the wall plaster paints a picture of quite an affluent neighbourhood, perhaps where wealthy families or officials were living, slightly away from the hustle and bustle of the main city.”

The site, he suggested, may have been to Roman London what Beverly Hills is to Los Angeles: a quiet and affluent retreat for the city’s elite.

“We’re still working to determine the exact function of this building. The two main theories are that it could have been a home for a wealthy family or perhaps a mansio, a type of inn or hotel for travelling government officials.

“The discoveries on this site signify a level of investment and optimism from the Romans in London and in Britain. This is a place they intend to stay and ‘Romanise’. ”

The site – which will eventually become a mixed-used development, The Liberty of Southwark – has already yielded remnants of a mausoleum, as well as mosaics.

The Roman occupation of the capital lasted until AD410, after which the site turned from a thriving trading city on the edge of an empire into an abandoned backwater. Only in the 10th century did London begin to re-establish itself as a major urban centre.

Southwark, where the villa once stood, became home to some of the capital’s less salubrious activities. By the 15th century, bear baiting and brothels were commonplace. Later, theatre productions by the likes of Shakespeare and Marlowe pulled in rowdy crowds – and south London began to earn its rough and ready reputation.

THE TIMES