Archaeologists in Rome have discovered beautiful, ancient paintbut not justanypaint.
Among the brilliant colors, researchers were most excited to find a rare chunk of Egyptian blue pigment.
The Colosseum Archaeological Park announced the discovery in a January 20Facebook post.
The ingot of Egyptian blue pigment discovered at La Domus Aurea.© Parco archeologico del Colosseo, photograph by Simona Murrone
In fact, its theoldest synthetically-made colorknown to scientists.
Perhaps the recipe hadnt been lost after all.
Either way, the brilliant color connects artists and artisans across the vast annals of human history.
The amphora containing yellow ocher. © Parco archeologico del Colosseo
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Details of the Egyptian blue ingot. © Parco archeologico del Colosseo, photograph by Simona Murrone
