In Arles, discovery of puzzle-style frescoes

Fragments of the fresco representing the harpist who gave her name to the house in Arles, in which she was discovered in 2015. • REMI BENALI / INRAP / SERVICE DE PRESSE

Beautifully painted frescoes, evoking the style of Pompeii, arise from the hands of restorers in Arles. They were discovered in 2015 in a Roman house at the archaeological site of La Verrerie, on the right bank of the Rhône. Built around 70-50 BC, the domus was baptized "House of the Harpist" because of the female figure that adorned the walls. This one is placed on a pedestal, on a vermilion background, and holds a musical instrument.

Wealthy owners

The villa was designed using Roman techniques that did not yet exist in Gaul, they only appeared there in the 30s BC. It is therefore likely that the craftsmen came from Italy to work there, responding to the request of a wealthy owner. At the time, Arles was home to an important port, cargo from Rome went north on barges along the Rhône, and the city levied taxes on products, which explains the wealth of some inhabitants.

The house of the Harpist follows a classic plan for the time (end of the republic):an atrium, with a basin and a well, leads to the other rooms, dining room, bedroom, reception room. It was destroyed a few years after its construction and backfilled with its own debris. The 800 cases of pieces collected give an idea of ​​the magnitude of the task.

Also read:Pompeii, city of painted walls

Restorers and archaeologists from Inrap (National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research) and the Departmental Museum of Ancient Arles have been working for several months to reconstruct a giant puzzle and restore the painted decorations to their original appearance. They have already spent 1,800 hours there, and it will take at least three years to finish.

Some of the frescoes ran over 4.60 m long and 2.80 m high. The figures represented in large size are megalographic figures which appear for the first time in Gaul:they were only known in Italy, in particular in Pompeii in the villa of the Mysteries. They will be exhibited at the Arles Museum.