Art / Street Art
Lawrence Weston’s Roman heritage celebrated in new mural
The ancient landscape of Bristol has been reimagined in a new mural next to the remains of a Roman villa.
A 20-metre long wall on Long Cross in Lawrence Weston was painted by Easton-based artist Conrico Steez with help from RAW Gallery.
The colourful piece visualise what it must have looked like for Roman invaders to come into contact with the indigenous Dobunni tribe.
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The new piece is only a stone’s throw from Kings Weston Roman Villa, which features two third-century mosaic floors but was only discovered during the construction of the Lawrence Weston housing estate in 1947.
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“It makes sense to reflect the ancient landscape they would have come across of rolling hills, lush green fields and some rudimentary huts of the Celtic tribes that roamed the Bristol area in 43AD,” Conrico told Bristol24/7.
“The mural is an exploration of what the landscape of Bristol would of looked like historically when the Romans first made their way through the south of the UK en route to Gloucestershire.
“The Dobunni tribe, made up of nomadic people who most likely came across from Wales and further south in Dorset/Cornwall.
“The character on the far right hand side is meant to be a druidic looking tribesman whilst the armoured warrior on the corner is a Roman soldier, exploring the landscape and encountering a Dobunni man.
“I also read into the old Roman fortifications that were dotted across the Bristol landscape that are still around today.
“Kings Weston House and a few other locations featured in my other drafts for this project, but were not part of the final chosen design.”
The new mural in Lawrence Weston is 20 metres in length – photo: Martin Booth
Conrico added: “I quite enjoyed reading a bit further into the ancient history of our county for this project.
“The client requested I feature a landing ship coming into port on a beach which in turn helps to break up the greenery of the hills, giving a better balance to the colours throughout the mural.
“I also wanted to include a bright blue skyline, reflecting onto an open ocean to help reflect the scale of crossing oceans in ancient times.
“Painting the mural was a lot of fun. This wall was a long one at 20 meters in width, so I asked RAW Gallery, a good friend of mine, to help assist me with laying the design out…
“The local community naturally took an interest in what was going on. We had a few people coming to ask us what the artwork was about and so on. It was a fun two days painting this mural…
I’m always happy to take on projects in new locations and discover a little bit about the local area and its history.
“Every new project is a chance to explore new avenues and research things you may not have looked into before. If you have a wall or home you’d like to see artwork upon, reach out and let’s see what we can create.”
Main photo & video: Martin Booth
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