Signed by Valerius: an Early Imperial wall painting from the fort of Deir el-Atrash in the Egyptian Eastern Desert

• Julie Marchand ^[2] ; Joachim Le Bomin ^[1] ; Adam Bülow-Jacobsen ^[3]
  1. [1] Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale

     Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale

     Egipto

     
  2. [2] Laboratoire HISOMA, CNRS
  3. [3] Institut de Papyrologie de la Sorbonne

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• Localización: Journal of Roman archaeology, ISSN 1047-7594, Vol. 35, Nº. 2, 2022, págs. 713-742
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • During the 2020 excavation campaign of the French Archaeological Mission to the Egyptian Eastern Desert (MAFDO), the team in charge of the excavation of the Roman fort of Deir el-Atrash uncovered a polychrome painting on one of the original entrance tower gates from the late 1st–early 2nd c. CE. The iconographic program includes, in the top register, a horseman genius and a caravan of dromedaries with its driver. In the lower register, a pattern of vine stalks and leaves occupies the space. This discovery is exceptional, as very few Roman paintings have been preserved in a military context. In addition to depicting a scene of everyday desert life, the supply of the fort, the scene also illustrates the power of the Empire and its presence at its borders.