12 Feb New mural celebrates Colchester’s Roman heritage and history
Colchester Borough Council has this week unveiled the second mural in St Mary’s multi-storey car park, in Colchester, celebrating the town’s amazing history.
The first mural was unveiled in October 2018 and the second mural, which spans the south stairwell of the car park, has been painted for free by the same local artist (who does not wish to be named). This time, the artist has taken inspiration from Colchester’s Roman history and the mural includes Roman Soldiers and gladiators.
These murals were painted to celebrate Colchester’s Roman heritage and history. They took about five months to complete, as the artist worked on a voluntary basis late in the evenings, with the support of Colchester Council. The artist spent many hours researching the town’s history and drawing sketches, before completing the final designs.
The mural artist said: “The mural focuses on the Roman presence in Colchester, which was their biggest settlement at the time, around 49AD. Their influence had a significant impact on the town, and many remains can still be observed today such as the famous Roman wall, some of which is located just across the road from this car park.
“The main challenge was to try to represent the diverse aspects of Roman life, arts and traditions, such as chariot racing, gladiatorial combats, and the art of mosaics.
I tried to use familiar, recognisable images such as the eagle, Roman soldiers and gladiators. Finally, I added olive branches, grapes, an orange tree and the iconic cypress trees to add a Mediterranean touch.”
