Mosaic of Alexander the Great
The iconic mosaic of Alexander the Great, found in Pompeii almost 200 years ago, is made up of 2 million quarry pieces that – according to a new study – came from all over the world (including Portugal).
There are around 2 million pieces that make up the mosaic, but where did they come from?
A study this Wednesday in the PLOS One brings us closer to the answer to this question.
The Alexander the Great mosaic, about 2,000 years old, disappeared in Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.
In 1831, it was rediscovered in excavations in Pompeii. It is currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. The Alexander Mosaic is considered “the most important mosaic from Roman times”.
It depicts Alexander, who ruled from 336 to 323 BC, and the Macedonian army triumphing over the Persian king Darius III and his forces.
In 2020, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples launched a restoration project that involved non-invasive study of the mosaic. As details, the team used several techniques, including portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), to help identify elements within an object.
“Secrets” from around the world
It turned out that the “tesselas were composed of ten types of colors masterfully combined to highlight the artistic effects that characterize the Alexander Mosaic,” the researchers wrote in the study.
The 10 colors included shades of white, brown, red, yellow, pink, green, gray, blue, black and glassy, which featured a wide variety of microtextures that were “masterfully combined to enhance the artistic effects of works of art,” they wrote. the researchers in the article.
And also from… Portugal!
As for the origin of tesserae, scientists analyzed the quarries that were used in Roman times.
For example, “some of the white tesserae may be related to Marmor Lunensis [calcário branco cristalino] from the quarries of the Apuan Alps (Italy), which began to be extracted for marble in the 1st century BC and ceased to be used from the 3rd century AD,” the team wrote in the study.
In turn, the intense pink tesserae may have Coming from Portugal!
Some of the yellow blocks may have come from the Roman city of Simitthus in modern-day Tunisia, and the dark red pieces may be from Cape Matapan in Greece, they wrote.
The team also detected traces of natural wax and the mineral gypsum, which were likely applied as a protective layer during restoration projects in the modern era, the team wrote in the study.
An endoscopic investigation of the back of the mosaic also showed “many empty portions” that were probably not detected by the gypsum-based substances, which were probably added to support the structure during its transit from Pompeii to the museum.
