Fragments of Wall Paintings From Polish Excavations at Kom El-Dikka, Alexandria
Journal Title: Études et Travaux (Institut des Cultures Méditerranéennes et Orientales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences) - Year 2014, Vol 0, Issue
Abstract
The study of mural painting in ancient Alexandria is still based on images decorating walls of Alexandrian tombs due to the fact that discoveries of painted plaster at archaeological sites in the ancient city are rather scarce and poorly documented. For this reason, the analysis of painted decorations from both public buildings and private houses has to be supported with references to the material from the necropolis. Fragments of mural paintings, unfortunately not in large numbers, were found on the walls of buildings discovered at Polish excavations at Kom el-Dikka. They are mostly decorations of house interiors, both from the Early Roman and Imperial Periods (first–third centuries AD) as well as the Late Antique Period (fifth–sixth centuries AD). Very few remains of painted decoration of public buildings were preserved in several so-called auditoria and in some rooms of Imperial Baths. Rich assemblages of painted plaster pieces were found in debris filling interiors of particular buildings. A common presence of uniform patterns and colours indicates that the majority of the material might have come from a single large edifice located in the vicinity of Kom el-Dikka. The material, which consists of several hundred remains, includes a rich selection of imitation of stone revetment, fragments of ornamental decorations and pieces which come from bigger figural compositions. All this material could be a starting point for an in-depth study of painted decoration of Alexandrian architecture between the first and the sixth centuries AD.
Authors and Affiliations
Barbara Tkaczow
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