２０００年前の邸宅跡から「前例のない」モザイク壁画　伊ローマ

【ローマＡＦＰ＝時事】イタリア・ローマの円形闘技場「コロッセオ」の近くにある２０００年以上前の邸宅（ドムス）跡から、貝殻、大理石、ガラスを使った「前例のない」モザイクの壁画が見つかった。同国文化省が１２日、発表した。（写真は、イタリア・ローマの観光名所、円形闘技場「コロッセオ」の近くで見つかった邸宅跡のモザイク画。同国文化省提供）
　邸宅は紀元前２世紀後半～１世紀末ごろのもので、モザイクには海を進む３隻の大型船、塔、ポルチコ（柱列）が描かれていた。こうした描写から、家の所有者が戦争で勝利したことを示している可能性がある。
　ジェンナーロ・サンジュリアーノ文化相は、邸宅について「本物の宝」だと話した。
　２０１８年に考古学者らが複数の壁を発見して以降、邸宅の発掘作業が進められていた。複数の階があるが、現時点で発掘が終わったのは一部で、来年も発掘が続けられる。
　文化省によると、所有者は元老院の議員だった可能性がある。壁には鉛でできたパイプが通り、水を使ったショーで来客を楽しませていたとみられるという。
　だが今回の発見が特別なのは、モザイクの時間の経過の描写と、場面描写の複雑さが「前例のない」ものだったためだとしている。
　文化省によると、モザイクには、貝殻、エジプシャンブルーのタイル、ガラス、白い大理石などの微細な破片が使われていた。
　またブドウの木やハスの葉に混じって、多数の武器やケルト風のトランペット、軍艦、三つまた矛などが描かれていたため、「邸宅所有者の陸海での勝利を表現した」と解釈できるという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/12/14-17:55）

Italian archaeologists have uncovered a luxurious Roman home near the Colosseum, boasting an unparalleled mosaic featuring shells, marble and precious glass, the culture ministry said Tuesday.
Three large ships ride waves in the mosaic towards a coastal city, its walls dotted with small towers and porticoes in a scene suggesting the owner of the more than 2,000-year-old home, or domus, had been victorious in battle.
The building, which dates to between the second half of the 2nd century BC and the end of the 1st century BC, is an authentic treasure, Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said in a statement.
Brought to light after archaeologists discovered a series of walls in 2018, the domus is spread over several floors. So far only some rooms have been excavated, and the dig will continue well into 2024.
Set around an atrium, the domus's main room is a banquet hall styled as a grotto, which was used during the summer months, the ministry said.
The owner, a nobleman likely to have been a senator, would have entertained guests with spectacular water games, thanks to lead pipes set between the decorated walls, it said.
But what makes the discovery exceptional is... an extraordinary wall covered with a so-called 'rustic' mosaic unparalleled in terms of the chronology and the complexity of the scenes depicted, it added.
- Trumpets, warships, tridents -
A complex sequence of scenes are depicted through different types of shells, Egyptian blue tesserae, precious glass, minute flakes of white marble or other types of stone, according to the ministry.
Among the vines and lotus leaves lie piles of weapons with Celtic-type trumpets, warships, and tridents, alluding perhaps to a double triumph, terrestrial and naval, of the owner of the domus.
There is a fascinating depiction of a landscape, complete with coastal city and a cliff, simulated with travertine rock, facing the sea ploughed by three large ships, one of which has raised sails.
The representation of a coastal city could allude to a warlike conquest by the owner of the domus, belonging to an aristocratic personage, presumably of senatorial rank, the ministry said.
Archaeologists also uncovered a white stucco of the highest quality in the adjoining reception room.
We will work intensively to make this place, one of the most evocative in ancient Rome, accessible to the public as soon as possible, said Alfonsina Russo, head of the Colosseum Archaeological Park.
The domus is an early example of luxuria, the displaying of wealth and rank through sumptuous villas and lifestyles.
It is also supports historical sources which describe the extensive residences of great Roman senatorial families in the north-western area of the Palatine, one of the city's seven hills.