After removing decades of grime, experts doing restoration on the Colosseum in Rome have discovered the ancient building’s glorious colours.
Archaeologists who have been painstakingly removing dust and dirt have been met with a reward that they long suspected: in its heyday, the Colosseum was not just all dull grey stone and parts of it were covered in a riot of colour. Experts found traces of bright red, light blue, white, black and green on the walls of one of the corridors used by Ancient Romans when they headed to their seats to watch the bloody gladiatorial games.
The colours indicate that there were frescoes in the passageways that circle the arena and experts hope to be able to establish what they depict during the ongoing restoration work. The fragments appear to be of scenes illustrating the gladiatorial world including images of swords, victory wreaths, laurel and erotic scenes.
Archaeologists have been working on the restoration since October 2012. They also found graffiti of palm fronds and crowns celebrating gladiatorial triumphs – and even scribbled drawings of phalluses on the plasterwork.
Never before open to the public, the colourful passageway is expected to open to the public this summer once the restoration work is complete.
