Wall paintings from Brigetio

The legionary fortress of Brigetio was situated to the east of today’s Szőny (the eastern part of the town of Komárom). A military town surrounded it and to the west a civilian town also existed. In both ancient settlements a number of wall painting fragments were discovered during archaeological excavations. Of those, two wall paintings which used to decorate the interior of houses in the centre of the civilian town could be reconstructed. The so-called cosmological ceiling painting involving a complex system of symbols is the most famous and perhaps most significant discovery. Cyclically changing time is depicted by the personified Seasons on the vaulted ceiling. The eternal cycle of time symbolised by the sky on the ceiling was represented by colours symbolising celestial spheres and by the images of two constellations, namely the Andromeda and the Pegasus. Judging by the so far compiled fragments, the other painting which decorated a side wall of a room in a residential house is connected to the themes of hunting and banquet. It depicts flayed animal skins stretched on a wall (panther and lioness) and two servants dressed in white; one of them is holding a silver platter with a beaded rim similar to the platters of the Seuso treasure, from which he is probably tasting and offering grilled spring onion.