57 - ROMAN POLYCHROME FRESCO FRAGMENTS FROM GLEVUM (GLOUCESTER) COLONIA

ROMAN POLYCHROME FRESCO FRAGMENTS FROM GLEVUM (GLOUCESTER) COLONIA GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, 1ST - 4TH CENTURY A.D. painted plaster, fifteen fragments ranging in size and shape, painted in varying shades of red, blue, green and yellow largest 9cm Provenance: Uncovered during excavations conducted at Bell Lane, Gloucester, United Kingdom 1966-1967 Simon Neal, United Kingdom Following its abandonment as a military headquarters, Glevum (modern Gloucester) was established as a Roman colonia around 96–98 AD, becoming an important centre of civilian life in Roman Britain. Settled initially by retired legionaries and their families, the town developed along a regular street grid, with public buildings, shops and private residences, and was comparable in size to Roman Lincoln. Its inhabitants enjoyed many of the amenities associated with Roman urban life, including public baths, markets and temples, whilst trade with the surrounding countryside supported a prosperous local economy. The present group of polychrome painted plaster fragments likely dates to this period of civilian occupation, when Roman decorative fashions became increasingly established within the town. Such painted interiors would have provided colour and ornament to domestic spaces, offering a glimpse of the tastes and aspirations of Glevum's Romano-British inhabitants.