• Fun facts about Roman wall paintings and
  • simple instructions of how to make your own, using plaster of Paris.

Fun facts

  • The fresco technique involved painting on damp plaster, the tempera technique involved painting on dry plaster.
  • Only the rich had painted plaster walls. Poor people had ones made from wattle (inter-woven branches) and daub (a mix of mud, blood and animal dung).
  • Green pigments were made from malachite, red and yellow from ochre, and black from red wine.
  • The best glue or size was made from bulls’ testicles!
  • Greek craftsmen were brought to Rome to create the first Roman wall paintings. Not surprisingly, many of the designs are of Greek heroes, legends and gods!
  • Fragments of Roman wall plaster have been found in Kent, including at Folkestone, Dover and Canterbury.
  • From these we know the colours and designs wealthy people had on their walls nearly 2,000 years ago.
  • They include geometric designs, leaves and flowers, and at Canterbury even the feet and legs of a Roman dancing girl.
  • The best-preserved Roman wall paintings are to be found in Italy, in the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. They were preserved under several metres of ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79.
  • A watercolour of an early Victorian tourist looking at wall paintings in Pompeii is in the Folkestone Museum collection.
  • Some of the finest Roman wall paintings in Britain can be seen at the Painted House in Dover where over 400 square feet of wall paintings survive, including ones relating to Bacchus, the god of wine.

How to make a Roman wall painting

  • To make a mini Roman wall painting mix a small quantity of plaster of Paris to a batter-like consistency and pour into a shallow container (approx 15cm x 10cm x 1cm deep) lined with cling film. Leave for about 6 hours to set hard, then carefully remove it, before following the steps below.
  • Next sketch a simple design on paper. Get ideas for authentic Roman colours and designs from the wall plaster fragments at Folkestone Museum, and other museum collections on-line. Search Roman wall plaster to bring up lots of good examples.
  • Draw your design in pencil on the piece of plaster.
  • Carefully scratch a groove along the pencil lines using the sharp end of a nail. This helps stop the paint running between different parts of your design.
  • Mix a small amount of paint with just a little bit of water…and start painting!
  • Why not sign your work with your ‘Romanised’ name? Simply scratch the letters onto the plaster with the nail. For a boy’s name, add VS to the end of your first name. For a girl’s name, add an A.
  • You can also write the year in Roman numerals. 2020 is MMXX.
  • Why not stick magnetic squares on the back of your Roman fresco to make it into an impressive fridge magnet?