The painted red strip around the outside of Roman Buildings

[BigRedBat]

I'm curious about this, and wonder when the Romans started to paint it on, and when they ceased.

Also

Why did they do it?
What the paint was made of?
Did they paint it on country buildings such as villas, or just buildings in towns?

I also wonder whether contemporary buildings in Egypt or Greece might have been coloured in the same or a different way.

Thanks,

[Graham Sumner]

Hi
I can not answer all your questions but it is perhaps worthwhile to note the reconstructed barrack building at South Shields. That has been finished off with plain white plaster and it is interesting to observe the effect rainwater falling off the roof tiles and splashing of the ground has had on the wall. It has caused a dirty brown stain right along the wall about a metre off the ground the whole length of the building! In fact roughly where you would see the red painted band on Pompeian buildings.


Graham.

[Wander]

I see it's been a while since anyone commented on this, but I'll try:

I don't know how much of this applies, but I've been told that the dark red paint that's traditional on barns in America was originally composed of milk and blood from slaughtering animals. It was plentiful and it preserved the wood. The Romans didn't drink nearly as much milk as Americans do, but I wonder if a chemical analysis of the residues of red paint might show it to be blood-based...?

[BigRedBat]

Wander, that's an interesting idea; my guess (and it is a guess) is some sort of red lead paint.

Graham's theory above that it covered up rain splashes sounds very plausible. I'd love to see the South Shields fort sometime.

My interest is because a friend is modelling some Roman buildings for me and I'm keen to get the detail right. Do I paint a red band on my villa to match the shops/houses?

Cheers,

[Viventius]

They used red ochre for pigmentation. Also cinnabar and lead, which would be rather more expensive (and toxic!). Most of the red wall paint I've seen come up in excavations was red ochre. The red isn't as intense as cinnabar, but is sufficient.

There's information about the composition of wall paints here:

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ropt/hd_ropt.htm

[Mark Headlee]

Wander,

I've heard the myth about red barn paint also and after some research found that it is a false claim. Blood true enough is red in the body but once outside in the air changes rapidly. Though high in iron, blood will oxidize and turn brown then black as the chemicals in the blood degrade. Mix it with milk, and you will have a rotten smelly sludge of a mess that would rot wood rather than preserve it. The only ones who would love such a concoction would be the flies!

Vermilion was a common mineral base for paint from ancient times to the late 19th century when artificial colors were discovered. Red ocher was another. Some simple documentation was found on wiki, which in this topic is actually accurate!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermilion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_ochre

[Q. Vipsanivs Praetextatvs]

But why they (hypothetically) painted the wall with a red band?

Thank's :wink:

[Graham Sumner]

Graham's theory above that it covered up rain splashes sounds very plausible. I'd love to see the South Shields fort sometime.

Well here is the next best thing!
Graham.

[BigRedBat]

Nice photo! Thanks

[Aetius Helvius Merula]

I see it's been a while since anyone commented on this, but I'll try:

I don't know how much of this applies, but I've been told that the dark red paint that's traditional on barns in America was originally composed of milk and blood from slaughtering animals. It was plentiful and it preserved the wood. The Romans didn't drink nearly as much milk as Americans do, but I wonder if a chemical analysis of the residues of red paint might show it to be blood-based...?

This seems like a huge amount of a food product to waste by throwing it on a building.

[Tarbicus]

This seems like a huge amount of a food product to waste by throwing it on a building.

Why? Cassein paint is made of milk product, so why not paint it on a wall mixed with blood? You're forgetting the more modern example of barns using exactly the same method, and there being no need to suppose milk would be less scarce then than in Roman times. Paint also helps protect the building itself, and it's far more expensive to have to rebuild than repaint.

[Wander]

Mark:

About blood paint: My initial reaction on reading your response was frustration with myself, because usually I'm pretty careful about swallowing myths like that. So I did a little research, including checking out the wiki links you gave about ochre and vermilion (very interesting, BTW -- I didn't know vermilion was so expensive in Roman times). Neither seemed to specifically debunk blood, though.

I found the following link at www.painterforum.com , which claims to be "house painting advice from professionals." Granted, they're not paint chemists, but they repeat the milk-and-blood story, though they do state the primary pigment in barn paint was red iron oxide.

http://painterforum.com/milk.html

A little more authoritatively, Stanford University publishes the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation (which I take to mean in the museum sense). The following article covers methods of analysis of primitive paints and pigments, and it specifically covers the use of blood (section 7 - 7.3), though it seems to be as a proteinaceous binder.

http://aic.stanford.edu/jaic/articles/j ... 3-002.html

So, while "smelly mess" seems a likely accurate description of a blood-milk paint, it's clear that both elements were used in paint, though maybe not specifically in combination. Until I see something specifically and authoritatively debunking it (and I'd accept a "Mythbusters" episode), as far as I'm concerned, it's still a "maybe." Still, iron oxide seems a far more likely source of that red. I've lived where the earth contains red clay, and I can tell you those pigments are tenacious in staining things.

But thanks for reminding me how often "common knowledge" isn't really knowledge at all.

[Iulia Cassia Vegetia]

But why they (hypothetically) painted the wall with a red band?

Thank's
_________________
Mateo González Vázquez

LEGIO VIIII HISPANA

Because it's PRETTY
Just kidding. Actiually, the Romans used red a lot, and my guess (just a theory) is that red represents life force (blood) or protection, so perhaps the idea was not only to beautify the building, but to protect it from harm. Red is also the color of Mars, so possibly a connection there.

[BigRedBat]

Thanks for all the responses; interesting stuff!

[Tiberius Clodius Corvinus]

Do we know, how widespread this red strip actually was in the empire and where? I know the reconstructions in Pompeji and a few others, but can't tell anything about the usage at all. I know it mainly from the interior.

Because it's PRETTY
Just kidding. Actiually, the Romans used red a lot, and my guess (just a theory) is that red represents life force (blood) or protection, so perhaps the idea was not only to beautify the building, but to protect it from harm. Red is also the color of Mars, so possibly a connection there.

Apart from material and spiritual protection, aesthetics may well have been the main reason. It's like with fashion, (provided it's not entirely impractical ;-) ) ). At first there are only a few who use/do something. Others like it and follow. Later on it becomes tradition and people paint a red strip on their buildings as they associate this with their (roman) culture.