Opus reticulatum and Opus mixtum, two ancient Roman construction techniques combined in a wall at the Graeco-Roman seaport of Velia, Campania, Italy. Opus reticulatum, introduced by the late 2nd century BC, was a method of facing a wall with square or pyramid-shaped blocks of stone or brick set in a diagonal grid. In Opus mixtum, introduced in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, panels of opus reticulatum were separated by bands of brick facing, which probably saved on manpower and on bricks. The resulting strip design is common in buildings of the Late Roman Empire.
Velia, Marina di Ascea, Campania, Italy: Opus reticulatum and Opus mixtum … two ancient Roman construction techniques combined in a wall amid the excavated remains of this Graeco-Roman seaport on the Tyrrhenian Sea. Opus reticulatum, introduced by the late 2nd century BC, was a method of facing a wall with square or pyramid-shaped blocks of stone or brick set in a diagonal grid. It required less skilled labour than earlier methods, because tasks could be divided, and its initial use coincided with an increase in Rome’s supply of slave labour. In Opus mixtum, introduced in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, panels of opus reticulatum were separated by bands of brick facing, which probably saved on manpower and on bricks. The resulting strip design is common in buildings of the Late Roman Empire and on the walls of Constantinople and it was also used in the later Byzantine Empire. Velia was founded around 538 to 535 BC by Ionian Greek colonists. They named it Hyele, but the name then changed to Ele, Elea, and finally to Velia. The Romans took control in 273 BC and in 88 BC, it became a Roman municipality. The city retained the right to mint coins and its citizens kept the right to speak Greek. Velia declined as its two ports silted up and because it was bypassed by new overland trade routes. In the 9th century, most citizens left to escape malaria and raiding Saracen pirates, but some stayed to live on the acropolis. The settlement lasted until the late-1600s, when the acropolis was finally abandoned. The ruins below the acropolis were rediscovered in 1833. More recent excavations by archeologist Amedeo Maiuri found fortifications, a sea wall, gateways, frescoed houses and thermal baths. The site is now an archaeological park and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Velia, Marina di Ascea, Campania, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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