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Rooted in a shared belief that gaming is cultural expression, the campaign reflects a creative vision that is bold, social, and unmistakably youth-first. KRAFTON and Dentsu Creative Isobar partnered to capture BGMI’s role in shaping identity for India’s mobile-first generation. The result is a two-fold campaign brought to life through a series of short films – each designed to celebrate the everyday humour and confident swagger that define the BGMI experience.
Abhijat Bhardwaj, Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Creative Isobar, said: “We wanted the films to carry the same irreverence and energy that players experience in BGMI every day.”
The films are built around the instinctive connection young players have with their devices, where downloading BGMI becomes a reflex, not a decision. The first series leans into this behaviour with outlandish, exaggerated scenarios, from elevator face-offs to manhole escapes, where the one constant is the act of proudly revealing a BGMI-loaded phone. The humour is bold and absurd, but the emotion is grounded in truth: when your phone has BGMI, it instantly carries social weight.
The second series mirrors how Indian youth celebrate milestones but flips the focus. From job offers and housewarming to awkward firsts, each narrative lands on one message: no moment is complete until BGMI is the first app you install. These films borrow from Gen Z humour and meme culture, making them feel native to the feeds where this audience lives, punchy, unexpected, and made to be shared.
Srinjoy Das, Associate Director – Marketing, KRAFTON India, said: “At KRAFTON, we’ve always believed BGMI is shaped by the community that plays it. This campaign reflects that spirit, turning even everyday upgrades into moments that celebrate the player’s instinct to connect, express, and compete. At KRAFTON, we are committed to reflecting real player experiences and giving back to the community that has made BGMI part of daily life.”
Sahil Shah, CEO, Dentsu Creative Isobar, said: “We didn’t want to make ads that look like ads, we set out to create content that sparks a reaction, gets shared, meme’d, and remembered. BGMI gave us the perfect playground, and the community gave it life.”
With over 230 million downloads in India, BGMI has become more than a game, it is a cultural signal for a mobile-first generation. This campaign taps into that momentum, showing how BGMI turns everyday moments into expressions of identity. In a world where devices reflect who we are, as the films roll out, they carry forward a simple message – BGMI isn’t just downloaded, it’s declared.
Google’s new cheapest Pixel 10 has been upgraded with more cameras, a faster chip and some quality software that has brought it out of the shadow of its pricier Pro siblings to set a new standard of what you should expect from a base-model flagship phone.
The regular Pixel 10 costs £799 (€899/$799/A$1,349) – the same as last year’s Pixel 9 – undercutting the 10 Pro by £200 and matching rivals from Samsung and Apple while offering more for your money.
The design is almost identical to the Pixel 9, except for some new bold colours and the all-important new third camera in the pill-shaped lump on the back. The satin aluminium and glass body feels like a quality piece of hardware and the design certainly stands out in a sea of samey slab phones. The 6.3in OLED screen is crisp, super-bright and smooth with a 120Hz refresh rate.
The glass back hides another upgrade: Qi2 wireless charging and magnetic accessory support. Google is making its own Pixelsnap gadgets but Qi2 is an open standard and cross-compatible with the plethora of accessories designed for Apple’s excellent MagSafe, including chargers, wallets, handles and stands that just stick to the back of the phone.
Screen: 6.3in 120Hz FHD+ OLED (422ppi)
Processor: Google Tensor G5
RAM: 12GB
Storage: 128 or 256GB
Operating system: Android 16
Camera: 48MP+ 13MP UW + 10.8MP 5x tele; 10.5MP selfie
Connectivity: 5G, eSim, wifi 7, UWB, NFC, Bluetooth 6 and GNSS
Water resistance: IP68 (1.5m for 30 minutes)
Dimensions: 152.8 x 72.0 x 8.6mm
Weight: 204g
The new Tensor G5 chip is about 34-38% faster than Google’s previous top processor in testing, which is quite a leap for the brand, but still falls short of the raw performance of Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon chip used in rivals. The Pixel feels rapid in operation and will handle most things just fine.
The battery life is solid if not class-leading. It manages roughly two days of light usage between charges or about 33 hours of heavy use, including five hours of 5G out and about with seven hours actively using the screen. Most people will need to charge it every other day.
The Tensor G5 also includes a significantly faster AI processor that runs Google’s advanced AI quicker and handles more complex systems on-device, making the Pixel a showcase for Google’s AI prowess.
The Pixel 10 runs the latest Android 16 out of the box and comes with software support until August 2032. Google’s take on Android is full of bold colours, big buttons and fun typography with plenty of nice touches and haptic interactions throughout the system. It’s a quality experience even if you choose more subtle colour combinations.
The Pixel is a vehicle for some of Google’s most advanced AI systems, running the latest version of Gemini Nano on-device, which powers all sorts of AI features including various writing, dictation and image-editing tools. A flashy new voice translation system for phone calls can speak to you in a simulacrum of the caller’s voice, rather than one of the default Gemini voices.
But Magic Cue is the most advanced new AI feature which runs locally on your phone and aims to be your little assistant running in the background on your device to proactively help you do things faster on your phone. It combines information from your Google account with multiple data sources on your phone to pop-up suggestions of useful information when using certain Google apps. For instance, it pulled up my order confirmation emails in a little card in the phone app when I called to check where my delivery was, giving me one-tap access to the order number.
Or if someone texts about when your flight is due to land, it shows the time and date pulled from your calendar ready to send them with a single tap. The weather app suggests locations for your upcoming trips from your calendar, too.
These things don’t sound particularly exciting, but are a step in the right direction for AI away from flashy gimmicks to useful little background time savers. Magic Cue currently works with Gmail, maps, calendar, Keep notes, screenshots, contacts and messages, with Google Photos and a few other Google apps coming soon. The biggest problem is that it doesn’t work in third-party apps yet, so if you use WhatsApp rather than text messages it can’t help you.
The Pixel 10 features a 10.5-megapixel selfie and three rear cameras: a 48MP main, 13MP ultra wide and a 10.8MP 5x telephoto. It addresses the main complaint about the base-model Pixel phones, which have lacked a telephoto cameras.
The main and ultrawide cameras produce excellent images across a range of lighting conditions, doing better than rivals at this price in higher contrast scenes or dimmer indoor lighting. The new 5x telephoto significantly closes the distance to objects shooting great photos and reaching up to 20x digital zoom if needed. The photos from all three cameras show a little grain when viewed at full crop, but most will be very pleased with them.
Google is still the best at reliably producing good images without much thought. The new auto Best Take mode improves on the popular group shot Best Take system by shooting multiple images to automatically blend them together for an image where everyone is looking at the camera. In most photos it won’t have to do too much, but the more people and the more complex the situation, the more the AI intervenes.
The popular Add Me feature allows the photographer to be added in to larger and more complex group shots, and has been improved to support larger groups of people, more complex backgrounds and images of pets. The camera app also now adds C2PA content credentials to photos that show how the image was captured and whether generative AI was involved.
One of the most overtly AI tools is the new Camera Coach feature, which uses Gemini to help you compose and frame a shot for a better picture. Press a small button at the top of the viewfinder and it sends the current view to Google’s servers to analyse and suggest several different possible compositions. Select the one you like the look of and it guides you through the steps of moving the camera, framing the shot and taking the photo. In testing, the suggestions were pretty good, so for anyone interested in improving their photography, this could be a low-key way of getting a bit of help.
Overall, the Pixel 10 shoots great photos and videos with generally helpful AI additions, particularly with Best Take and Add Me, but it is possible you end up with images of a moment that may never have actually happened.
The battery is rated to last in excess of 1,000 full charge cycles with at least 80% of its original capacity. The phone is repairable by Google, third-party shops or self-repair with manuals and parts available.
The Pixel 10 is contains 32% recycled materials by weight including aluminium, cobalt, copper, glass, gold, plastic, rare-earth elements, tungsten and tin. The company breaks down the phone’s environmental impact in its report and will recycle old devices for free.
The Google Pixel 10 costs from £799 (€899/$799/A$1,349) in a choice of four colours.
For comparison, the Pixel 10 Pro costs from £999, the Pixel 9a costs £399, the Samsung Galaxy S25 costs £799 and the iPhone 16 costs £799.
The Pixel 10 sets a new bar for base-model flagship phones, offering a high-quality experience and great camera with a meaningful telephoto zoom that doesn’t feel like a poor second cousin to the Pro models.
The outside has not changed a lot since last year but it is an attractive design that stands out in the sea of rather samey phones, at least from the back. It feels snappy in operation, even if it doesn’t have the fastest chip available, and the battery lasts a decent 1.5 to two days between charges.
Some of the new AI features actually seem like meaningful improvements, particularly Magic Cue, auto Best Take and other small bits that run locally in the background while you are doing things. Combined with Gemini, Google is leagues ahead in the era of actually useful AI tools compared with rivals such as Apple, and it doesn’t get in the way of the core smartphone experience.
It is not quite the killer bargain of Google’s cheaper Pixel 9a but the Pixel 10 is one of the best phones you can get and great value nonetheless.
Pros: seven years of software updates, great camera with 5x telephoto, great screen, Magic Cue and impressive local AI features, Qi2 wireless charging and magnetic accessory support, good battery life, good size, fast fingerprint and face recognition.
Cons: face unlock option not as secure as Face ID, raw performance and battery life short of best-in-class, no physical sim card slot in the US.
Aukey has announced a new modular charging solution called the MagFusion Ark. It combines a base station featuring up to three Qi2.2 charging pads with spherical power banks that each have their own Qi2.2-compatible pads. The spheres support passthrough charging and can wirelessly charge another device while they’re on the base station, but they can also be removed and used as standalone wireless chargers powered by either their 6,700mAh battery or a USB-C port.
Pricing will be announced closer to the MagFusion Ark’s release in Q1 of 2026, but it will be available in three different configurations: a bundle that includes a base with three pads and three spheres, as well as one- and two-pad bases with the spheres sold separately. The Ark is entirely Qi2.2-compatible, and both the base and spheres will wirelessly charge Qi2.2 devices at rates up to 25W.
On battery power alone, the number of times that the spheres can be used to fully recharge a device like a smartphone will depend on the capacity and health of that device’s own battery. But given the battery in the spheres is also used to power a cooling fan, you can probably expect to get at least one full smartphone charge out of them, or a handful of top-ups.
Each sphere also features a 30W USB-C port. You can use it to maximize the sphere’s battery capacity by sidestepping the inefficiencies of wireless charging, charge devices that aren’t Qi2-compatible, or even keep the sphere plugged in to use as a charging stand. You can also charge two devices simultaneously from each sphere — one from the USB-C port and one from the Qi2 pad— but wireless charging rates drop to 15W while the USB-C port’s output drops to 20W.
Although Aukey says the MagFusion Ark offers a “total of six charging points,” you’ll only be able to wirelessly charge three devices at a time on the base station, excluding the spheres. When the spheres are each being used independently to charge other devices, that then frees up the pads on the base for other devices. That’s a bit limiting given the relatively large footprint of the Ark’s base, but the added flexibility of being able to grab one of the spherical chargers and use it anywhere in your home could be worth the tradeoff.
So, how is the ethos of USM expressed in the limited edition chronographs? Quite deftly and subtly, in fact. Housed in the distinctive, angular, 14-sided, and instantly recognizable Defy case, sized at 37 millimeters in diameter, four dial colors are offered as part of the limited edition set, which will see just 60 of each being produced. Called “gentian blue, pure orange, golden yellow, and (USM) green,” they represent some of the original colors USM used in the Haller line, beyond black and white. To be sure, USM, like many a Swiss watch brand, has been slow, conservative, and methodical in updating its products. When it recently added olive green to its color lineup, it marked the first new shade for the Haller furniture system in more than two decades. Marietta says Zenith’s dial makers couldn’t simply use a Pantone reference for the dials but had to create special pigments to match USM’s unique paint hues.
New update fee just 5 weeks away.
Getty Images
Microsoft’s new Windows update fee could see users spend more than $7 billion over the next 12 months to ensure PCs retain access to critical support fixes. That fee starts in just 5 weeks and not paying has serious consequences.
We’re talking Windows 10 and the price for business users to keep PCs secure. There’s no equivalent to the free 12-month update that Microsoft’s recent u-turn has offered to home users. But all Windows 10 users need to act before the October 14 deadline.
The new warning comes from Nexthink, which says “the cost of custom Windows 10 support could reach upwards of $7.3bn,” based on analysis of the numbers of enterprise users likely to be still using Windows 10 as the October deadline comes and goes.
Nexthink says “data shows Windows 10 still has a 43% market share, which is equivalent to roughly 181 million devices.” They suggest “a further 33% reduction by the October 14, that would leave around 121 million Windows 10 PCs.”
Given the $61 fee for the first year, confirmed by Microsoft, the straight math gives you the $7 billion overall figure — assuming enterprises don’t run the risk of leaving PCs off support. Given the state of the Windows threat landscape, that would be ill-advised.
Nexthink also warns users upgrading to Windows 11 that PCs on the new OS “are currently experiencing a higher level of instability, with more frequent system crashes (1.2% vs 0.6% for Windows 10) and hard resets (9.9% vs 8.5% for Windows 10).”
“Every migration comes with teething problems, and what we’re seeing with Windows 11 is no different,” the team says, linking the higher level of instability to “underlying hardware, drivers, or the way systems are deployed.”
This will be especially true for enterprises upgrading older PCs that just make the infamous Windows 11 cut , the security-based compatibility test to determine whether a PC can be upgraded or needs to be replaced. Unsurprisingly, the heavier weight OS will be more stable on newer devices given its higher level of performance.
Home users also need to act before the October 14 deadline, with millions awaiting the “Enroll” button appearing on their PCs. Once that turns up, users can choose from one of three options to ensure PCs are secure for another year. Details here.
Select Samsung appliances will receive up to 7 years of software updates in September, including 2024-launched models.
One UI shown on Bespoke AI Family Hub™ + French Door Refrigerator. Image simulated for illustrative purposes.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has announced the expansion of its proprietary One UI platform to its home appliance lineup, delivering a unified and intuitive software experience across compatible smartphones, TVs and now smart appliances. As a part of this initiative, some smart appliances will receive software updates for up to 7 years after launching[1], starting from 2024-launched home appliances being updated in September[2].
“By bringing One UI to smart appliances, we are transforming the way people interact with technology in their homes,” said Jeong Seung Moon, EVP and Head of the R&D Team of the Digital Appliances (DA) Business at Samsung Electronics. “This consistency ensures that the experience feels natural and familiar across all our devices.”
With One UI, Samsung is unifying the user experience for the product categories of mobile devices, TVs and home appliances through the application of consistent design elements and functionality. This includes Apps & Services like Bixby[3], Gallery, and Samsung TV Plus[4], which are being made available across various types of screens to enable seamless device interaction and media consumption.
Device Connectivity is also enhanced through SmartThings[5], integrating the home’s devices into a unified ecosystem with easy access to helpful services like Family Care, Pet Care and Home Care[6]. When it comes to Common UI, users will get the benefit of familiar interfaces like Now Brief[7], which delivers personalised and relevant information at a glance. Now Brief offers family members a curated selection of useful content, including daily weather updates, family schedules, tailored recipes, and home insights such as how much time is left on the washing machine.
Wi-Fi-enabled Samsung home appliances will be eligible for software updates for up to seven years after launching, starting from models launched in 2024[8]. This supports Samsung’s commitment to provide good value by enhancing functionality and prolonging security updates throughout the product lifecycle.
From September 2025, eligible 2024 launched models[9] will receive various software updates that bring enhancements in usability, intelligence and security:
By expanding One UI across product lines, Samsung is realising its vision of a cohesive, intelligent and secure home — where users enjoy familiar interfaces, personalised services and consistent control regardless of screen or device.
For more information on Samsung’s latest AI-powered home appliances and SmartThings innovations, please visit www.samsung.com/au
[1] Software updates are provided for up to 7 years from each appliance project’s initial launch, regardless of the local launch date.
[2] One UI 7.0 software will roll out from September. Software updates are provided to appliances excluding cases where hardware limitations, such as memory or chip performance, may restrict the updates.
[3] Bixby is Samsung’s brand of Internet of Things (IoT) voice assistant. Its service availability may vary depending on the country, language and dialect. Bixby updates include Voice ID and double tap initiation, available on 2024 Family Hub and AI Home refrigerators and washing machines.
[4] Coming to Australia via 2024 Family Hub and AI Home refrigerators and washing machines in September 2025.
. Ad-supported streaming service with content subject to change without notice. Internet connection and Samsung account required.
[5] Requires Samsung Account, internet connection and SmartThings enabled devices. Please visit www.samsung.com/au/apps/smartthings/ for a list of current compatible devices.
[6] To utilise Family Care, Pet Care and Home Care, appliance must support Wi-Fi and connect to SmartThings to activate service. The availability of each care service may vary by country.
[7] Now Brief will be available on home appliances from 2026. Now Brief feature requires a Samsung Account login. Service availability may vary by country, language, device model or apps. Some features may require a network connection.
[8] Products include SRF9400BFH, SRF9800BFH, SRFX9400BG, SRL4200S, SRL4200B, SRL4600BD, SRL4600SD, SRL4600S, SRL4600B, and WD18DB8995BZ.
[9] Products include SRF9400BFH, SRF9800BFH, SRFX9400BG, SRL4200S, SRL4200B, SRL4600BD, SRL4600SD, SRL4600S, SRL4600B, and WD18DB8995BZ.
[10] Knox Matrix is applied to all global regions uniformly, with the exception of China.
[11] May vary by model
[12] Product availability varies by country.
[13] Trust Chain enables connected devices to monitor each other for security threats. In case of an attack, it isolates compromised devices to safeguard the rest of the ecosystem, reconnecting them once the issue is resolved. Learn more here: https://news.samsung.com/au/the-knox-journals-the-passwordless-future-of-security
[14]AI Vision Inside in Australia can recognise 33 food items like fresh fruits and vegetables. This expands to 37 food items in other global regions If the food is not recognisable, it may be listed as an unknown item. AI Vision Inside cannot identify or list any food items in the fridge door bins or freezer. It recognises food items based on deep learning models, which may be updated periodically to improve accuracy. AI Vision Inside also recognises packaged food items that have been saved by the user, and up to 50 items can be saved with designated names. Packaged items are limited to those that keep a certain packaged form.
[15] Bixby is Samsung’s brand of Internet of Things (IoT) voice assistant. Bixby service availability may vary depending on the country. Bixby only recognises certain accents and dialects of English (India), English (UK), English (US), French (France), German (Germany), Italian (Italy), Korean (South Korea), Mandarin Chinese (China), Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Spain) and Spanish (Latin America).
Microsoft Copilot with its 2025 lineup of TVs and Smart Monitors
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced a new integration of Microsoft Copilot with its 2025 lineup of compatible TVs and Smart Monitors,[1] building on Samsung’s commitment to offering even more personalised and intelligent features on screen with Samsung Vision AI.
With Copilot built into the display, users can access Microsoft’s powerful AI companion through a simple voice command or click of the remote, making it easier to search, learn and engage with content directly from their screens.
“Through our open AI partnerships, Samsung is setting a new standard for AI-powered screens,” said Kevin Lee, Executive Vice President of the Customer Experience Team at the Visual Display (VD) Business of Samsung Electronics. “Copilot makes it fun and easy to quickly get what you need through tailored experiences, whether you’re learning something new, enjoying entertainment, tackling everyday tasks or more.”
Copilot’s integration expands on a richer, more contextual smart display experience. The integration also enables Copilot’s conversational AI in Samsung Daily+, Samsung’s lifestyle hub that offers services across entertainment, wellness, food and more.
Copilot can be accessed through the Samsung Tizen OS home and Samsung Daily+, enabling conversational AI support for a range of scenarios[2]. Through natural voice interaction, Copilot offers personalised recommendations, relevant information and interactive learning experiences. Whether viewers are curious about something they’re watching or looking to explore a topic further, Copilot can respond instantly— all from the largest screen in the user’s home.
“Copilot on Samsung TVs is designed to feel like an AI companion in your living room,” said David Washington, Partner General Manager, Microsoft AI. “Together with Samsung’s leadership in display technology, we’re bringing people a shared experience that helps them discover something to watch, ask questions, make plans, or simply enjoy a moment together, all on the biggest screen in their home.”
As global leader in the TV market for 19 consecutive years[3], Samsung is in a unique position to create the most intuitive and supportive AI companion for the home.
To learn more, visit www.samsung.com/au
[1] Copilot is currently available in Australia on 2025 Smart Monitors M9. M8 and M7 models. Copilot will be available on 2025 TV models including, Micro RGB, Neo QLED, OLED, The Frame Pro, and The Frame in Q4 2025. Availability will expand to additional regions and models over time and may vary by market.
[2] In Australia, Copilot can currently be accessed through the Samsung Tizen OS home and Samsung Daily+ on 2025 Smart Monitor M9, M8 and M7 models. Select Samsung 2025 Smart TV owners will follow the same route in Q4 2025 when Copilot expands to the following TVs: Micro RGB, Neo QLED, OLED, The Frame Pro, and The Frame. Availability will expand to additional regions and models over time and may vary by market.
[3] Source – Omdia, Feb 2025. Based on overall TV market share by manufacturer on an annual unit & revenue basis.
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The table before me was awash with colour: a shattered sea of pink, yellow, green, and black formed from large chunks and smaller fragments of plaster that had been painstakingly pieced back together to create a coherent whole. Two thousand years ago, these still-vibrant remains would have formed part of a fresco adorning one of the walls of a high-status building in Roman Southwark, clearly signalling the wealth and taste of its owner to anyone who ventured inside. They also represent just a portion of a major archaeological discovery that was unveiled earlier this year: one of the largest assemblages of painted wall plaster that has ever been found from Roman London.
This colourful collection, comprising thousands of individual fragments, was discovered during excavations by MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) on the site of The Liberty, near London Bridge in Southwark. Between 2021 and 2024, these investigations (undertaken on behalf of Landsec, Transport for London, and Southwark Council ahead of the creation of a new cultural quarter) uncovered illuminating insights into the lives and livelihoods of people who lived south of the Thames during the Roman period, including elaborate mosaics and a grand mausoleum that formed part of a large later cemetery (see CA 386 and 402).
Located across the river from the bustle of Londinium, this was a wealthy suburb whose residents built opulent houses along the waterfront. Excavations in the 1980s and in 2005 had already revealed the remains of some of these structures, including the northern part of a large building complex that was interpreted as a possible mansio (a residence for important travellers on official business) or a particularly luxurious private dwelling. It was constructed early in Roman London’s history, before AD 120, and although its owners had evidently lavished money on its design, commissioning mosaic floors and elaborately painted walls, MOLA’s more recent work on the site has revealed that the building was relatively short-lived. It was demolished sometime before AD 200, during which time the crumbled remains of its fine frescos were consigned to a large pit, where they would remain until their rediscovery almost 2,000 years later.
Over 120 boxes of plaster fragments – enough to cover an estimated 20 internal walls – were recovered from the site, and the challenge of piecing them back together has been taken up by Han Li, MOLA’s Senior Building Material Specialist. Drawing on parallels from across Europe and insights from other experts – including colleagues at the MOLA finds team, his predecessor Dr Ian Betts, and other scholars including those at the British School at Rome – for months Han has been painstakingly matching edges, images, and even common patterns of dirt or residue on some of the pieces’ surfaces in order to reconstruct long-vanished decorative schemes and tease out what they can tell us about the tastes and cultural connections of some of Roman London’s wealthier inhabitants.
It was Han who was my guide as I gazed at the colourful fragments that had been carefully arranged on a table at MOLA’s headquarters in Hackney. Reconstructing a single, brightly painted wall, they formed a fairly typical design known from sites across the Roman Empire, with repeating panels in a block colour set above a dado painted to look like expensive imported stone. There would have also been a decorative frieze along the top, Han added, but these rarely survive well enough to be reconstructed – as this section of the plasterwork falls from the greatest height when its underlying wall is demolished, it tends to shatter into very tiny pieces, while lower elements generally form larger chunks that are more easily interpreted and reunited.
In this example, the wall had been painted a bright sunflower yellow – a shade that is not in itself unusual in Roman frescos, Han said, though it does not appear to have been a common choice for the main repeating panels. Red seems to have been the more popular colour, though examples of yellow panels are known from other sites including Fishbourne Palace in West Sussex, Silver Street in Lincoln, and Xanten in Germany – and, Han added, there may be others boxed up in archives that are still waiting to be reconstructed. Like those at Xanten, the Southwark structure’s panels were divided with black intervals edged in green and, by closely examining areas where the pigment has flaked away, we can tell that the whole wall was initially painted yellow before the bands were added, rather than setting these out first and then trying to ‘colour inside the lines’.
The black intervals themselves offered even more intricate details, providing the background for delicate images of fruit, flowers, and foliage; lyres; and white birds with long necks and red beaks, possibly some kind of wader, crane, or stork. Many of these had been found in multiple fragments, which Han had carefully fitted back together, and another recurring motif showed a tall candelabrum growing variously out of a slender stem or a bushy vertical spray of leaves and flowers. Thought to have originated in Pompeii, candelabrum imagery was evidently a popular theme as it is found in localised styles across the Roman Empire including at Xanten and Cologne in Germany, Lyon in France, and sites in Britain including Boxmoor in Hertfordshire and Leicester – demonstrating how far artistic ideas and interior design fashions can spread.
To modern eyes, these decorative schemes might appear rather ‘busy’, even gaudy – but to the people who commissioned them they would have represented the epitome of taste and style, and a highly visible statement of their status within Roman society. Some of the individual pigments would have also been chosen to impress; contemporary visitors would not have missed the use of Egyptian blue, a vivid synthetic shade that was much more costly than natural earth colours. Perhaps because of this expense it had been used only sparingly on the frescos that Han showed me (picking out details of the lyres and candelabra, as well as a face with a wig, probably representing a theatrical mask, from another wall) but its presence, however small, would have surely been a source of great pride.
There were also more budget-friendly methods at work; beneath the yellow panel, the same wall’s dado had been skilfully painted to look like speckled pink marble, fooling the eye into imagining exotic (and expensive) stone veneers. On an adjacent table, a group of fragments painted in the same way but using a slightly different shade of pink suggested that at least one other room had been decorated in a similar way, while a third set spoke of something rather more high-end. These last fragments were painted with a darker pigment imitating red Egyptian porphyry, a highly prized crystal-flecked volcanic stone. Adding to this prestigious picture, Han noted, the white speckles of this ‘stone’ had been hand-painted and carefully splashed (in contrast to those of the pink marbles which appear to have been achieved more casually). Still more pieces came from a pale band with hand-painted veins, representing giallo antico, a kind of yellow marble from North Africa.
While these schemes may not have all been in place at the same time, the building’s interiors had clearly been designed to impress. Perhaps there was an element of ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ at work, as Roman Southwark seems to have boasted a number of elegantly appointed residences. One of the most impressive examples was excavated by MOLA (then MoLAS) at Winchester Palace, a short distance from The Liberty, in 1983-1990. There, beneath the 12th-century bishop’s residence that gives the site its name, archaeologists found part of a high-status Roman building – and within one of its rooms was a large section of painted plaster that had peeled away from its wall and collapsed face-down onto the floor (CA 124). Two superimposed skins of plaster had survived intact; the earlier of the pair, dating to the mid-2nd century, was the most ornate, combining architectural imagery depicting a colonnaded building, sweeping swathes of garlands, and the figure of a cupid. These Classical details led some to suggest that a Mediterranean artist had been brought in to execute the work – certainly, it appears that no expense had been spared, as the fresco also featured expensive materials like imported red cinnabar and gold leaf. Then, probably in the 3rd century, the entire scene had been plastered over and repainted with a much plainer geometric design.
These changes echo evidence from The Liberty’s building, which was in use for around a century, and would have seen numerous reworkings and redecorations over this period – the plasterwork that we see today would not have been the work of one artist, or even one team, but of successive groups of artisans serving the changing tastes and budgets of different inhabitants. While examining the fragments of imitation stone and a white wall with vivid red and black bands and lines, Han highlighted examples where the surface had been pecked, creating keying to support a new layer of plaster that could be painted afresh. In other cases, successive layers were still in place, speaking of repeated replasterings, and, as at Winchester Palace, some of these later surfaces carried much plainer decorative schemes. This might reflect a room switching function from a public space to something more utilitarian, Han said, perhaps changing from client-facing to a storeroom. There is also a wider pattern of Roman frescos becoming simpler and less well-executed over time, he added; possibly because of a wider economic decline that placed fancy frescos beyond the reach of many (and, with no work on offer, the best artists may not have been motivated to train successors, essentially de-skilling the next generation), or perhaps representing a shift in fashion towards a more minimalist approach.
Elaborately decorated dwellings were not limited to the south side of the river, however; significant discoveries have also been made within the walls of Londinium itself. Over the last 40 years, successive excavations along Fenchurch Street (by MOLA’s forerunner, the Department of Urban Archaeology; Wessex Archaeology; and Pre-Construct Archaeology) have revealed quantities of painted plaster, including floral and foliage motifs, from numerous houses. Another major collection of plaster fragments was recovered by the DUA at 25-51 St Mary Axe in 1989-1990; like those from The Liberty, these had been dumped en masse, and their decorations speak of extensive areas of imitation marble (as well as hints of yellow panels).
Elsewhere in the City, at 21 Lime Street, MOLA excavated the remains of a wealthy residence which had once stood close to London’s first forum (and was demolished when this public facility was expanded in the 2nd century). A collapsed wall preserved a large section of fresco measuring 2.5m by 1.5m (8.2ft by 4.9ft), revealing that one of its rooms had been painted with red panels interspersed with narrow green bands, as well as wider vertical stripes of black that were decorated with vines, theatrical masks, candelabra, deer, and parakeets (CA 320). This was not the first such find in the area; back in 2007, another MOLA dig at 8-13 Lime Street had uncovered another house with a collapsed plastered wall, this time boasting a yellow dado, red panels, and a green border that included images of flowers, birds, bunches of grapes, and candelabra (CA 226).
Timber and clay were the main building materials of early Roman London; their relatively humble nature holds the key to the survival of so many early frescos.
This list is not exhaustive, but the examples given above testify to the popularity of frescos within Roman London, as well as of certain ‘stock’ motifs, with foliage, birds, masks, and candelabra appearing at multiple locations. In his report on the St Mary Axe finds, published in the Transactions of the London & Middlesex Archaeological Society (volume 70, 2019), Ian M Betts wonders whether there might have been a school of specialist wall painters operating in London, in the same way that (based on stylistic comparisons) it is speculated that schools of mosaicists were working in different parts of Britain. We cannot know for sure, but the common design elements seen in different frescos of this period do at least offer illuminating insights into fashions of the time.
Another key characteristic shared by the houses mentioned above is that, despite the evident wealth of their inhabitants, their walls were constructed not from stone but from timber and clay. These were the main building materials of early Roman London, and their relatively humble nature holds the key to the survival of so many early frescos, Han said. Clay walls, sundried bricks, and wattle and daub held little reuse value, meaning that when buildings were demolished their materials were not robbed out and recycled elsewhere. For the same reason, plaster finds from stone buildings are much scarcer, and our understanding of how high-status buildings from the later Roman period – when London had many more masonry structures – were decorated is rather patchier.
As well as showcasing the skills of the artists who painted them, the fragmentary frescos from The Liberty also offer interesting insights into how such surfaces were created. Han showed me the outline of a flower that was never coloured in but was later painted over in white – perhaps it had been deemed surplus to requirements, or had been quickly sketched to instruct an apprentice tasked with creating more of the same – which reveals how such images were drawn using a compass. Just as illuminating, however, are hints of the process going wrong. Frescos are created by applying paint when the plaster is still wet, and the artists would have worked from the top down to prevent leaks from spoiling already completed sections. On one of the fragments of imitation stone, Han pointed out flecks of red that had spattered onto an area of black, suggesting somewhat rushed work. Perhaps the artist had been racing to finish the work because the plaster was drying too quickly – certainly, there are spots where the bonding had failed and the colour had flaked away, indicating that the surface had not been wet enough when the pigment was added. Elsewhere, a scar left by the clumsy movement of a trowel hints at someone else working with more haste than care – humanising details that bring the anonymous artisans back into focus.
One of the artists had not intended to remain nameless, however. On one of the fragments, Han has identified part of a tabula ansata, an image of a decorative tablet which was used to sign artworks in the Roman world. Tantalisingly, the word ‘FECIT’ (‘made this’) has survived, but the name of the individual in question has broken away and has not yet been found. The crucial piece may yet emerge from the plaster still undergoing examination, but while its current absence is disappointing, the survival of the corresponding verb is more important, Han said. If it had been the other way around, with the name present and ‘FECIT’ lost, we would not know for certain that it represented one of the artists rather than captioning one of the images or representing another individual in some way. The text of the signature is skilfully executed (‘The “T” of “FECIT” goes from thin to thick, it is really beautiful penmanship,’ Han commented), and as the edges of the lettering have not flaked, it was very likely added while the plaster was still soft.
Elsewhere, similarly skilled writing is represented by a near-complete Greek alphabet, which was discovered across two pieces that have now been placed back together. It is the first example of its kind known from Roman Britain, though parallels are known from Italy (at Rome, Ostia, Pompeii, and Herculaneum), where they are thought to have served as some kind of tally or reference. The Southwark example does not look like casual writing practice either, Han commented – the letters are too well-executed (and too small to be a useful teaching aid) – rather, they suggest that someone in Southwark was able to use the Greek alphabet 2,000 years ago. Unlike the text of the tabula ansata, however, these letters had been scratched into the plaster when it was already dry – this was graffiti, not an integral part of the design. Nor was it the only example of a more casual addition to the plasterwork; another large fragment bears a drawing of a weeping woman with a distinctive hairstyle that was fashionable during the Flavian period (AD 69-96).
Analysis of the fragments is still ongoing, and the Southwark frescos may yet have many more secrets to reveal. The full results of this work will be published in due course, and the plaster pieces themselves will be preserved for future study, and the possibility of future display.
All images: © MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology)