In Rome, archaeologists discovered an unprecedented antique mosaic of shells and corals

A five-year excavation on the side of Rome’s Palatine Hill yielded a treasure last week when archaeologists discovered a sumptuous banquet hall dating to around the first or second century BC, with large, intact and brightly colored wall mosaics.

The work is estimated to be about 2,300 years old and is part of a larger aristocratic mansion located near the Roman Forum, which has been under excavation since 2018, CNN reports.

The nearly five-metre-long mosaic scene featuring vines, lotus leaves, tridents, trumpets, helmets and mythological sea creatures was painstakingly created using mother-of-pearl, shells, coral, shards of precious glass and grains of marble. The piece is framed with polychrome crystals, spongy travertine and exotic Ancient Egyptian blue tiles.

What makes this discovery “unsurpassed,” according to archaeologist Alfonsina Russo, head of the Colosseum archaeological park responsible for the site, is not only the incredible state of preservation of the mosaic, but also its artistic design, which also features celebratory scenes of sea and land battles, probably , financed – and won – by an extremely wealthy aristocratic patron who immortalized the victories on their walls.

The complexity of the victory mosaics surprised the team working on the project. They show a walled coastal city with watchtowers and loggias – which Rousseau said might be an ideal or real site – perched on a cliff top decorated with pieces of travertine. There are also scenes of sailing ships with their sails raised, along with images of mythical sea monsters devouring enemy fleets.

Archaeologists are trying to figure out whether the thin—and expensive for the time—coral branches used in the exhibit were brought from the Mediterranean or the Red Sea. The team believes that the rare bluish glass paste also used in the design was likely brought from the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria.

“This 25-square-meter (270-square-foot) banquet hall is just one room in a ‘domus’ (the Latin word for house) spread over several floors,” Alfonsina Russo tells CNN in an interview. “In ancient times, when powerful noble families inhabited the Palatine Hill, it was customary to use rich decorative elements as a symbol of display of wealth and high social status.”

The hall, which Rousseau considers the “pearl”, was an open-air banquet hall overlooking the garden, probably used in the summer for entertaining guests.

Such an elaborate space could also be used to impress guests with water games, which were very popular among the nobility at the time. “We found lead pipes built into decorated walls intended to supply water to pools or to create fountains that spout jets to create water games,” Russo says.

Marco Rossi, professor of Roman antiquities and head of the mosaic laboratory at the University of Rome degli Studi di Roma Tre, noted that these summer banquet halls were not only places where hosts and guests went to relax, but were also used by the owner of the mansion as an indicator of their wealth and status.

“Mosaics are usually found on floors, but this one runs all the way across the front wall and is incredibly well preserved,” Rossi said of the piece. “It was not crushed by the weight of the rubble, as can happen with some mosaics on the ground, and although it is fragile, it has not even cracked over the centuries.”

Professor Rossi added that the discovery of a complete wall mosaic is extremely rare, not least because the pieces are more fragile than those intended for flooring, which can be walked on and can withstand pressure.

Scientists believe that the location of the large house also contributed to the preservation of the wall. Situated on the slope of the famous Palatine Hill in Rome and subsequently covered by centuries of dirt and earth as the land moved, the structure and the treasures it contained were protected from air and light by layers of soil.

While this new discovery still holds many secrets—such as why the property was abandoned and for how long—Russo believes there is one mystery that archaeologists might be able to unravel: the identity of its owner, likely a Roman senator.

“This man was so rich that he could afford to import such precious elements from all over the empire to decorate this mansion,” notes Rousseau. “So far we have not found anything that could shed light on their identity, but we believe that additional research could allow us to accurately identify the noble family.”

Russo and her team aim to open the space to the public in early January. “We will continue to excavate other layers and areas of this evocative site to try to learn more,” she said. “It really is an incredible display of Roman luxury.”