K. Palágyi Sylvia szerk.: Balácai Közlemények 2008/10. (Veszprém, 2008)

KIRCHHOF, ANITA: The decorative system and reconstruction of the red dining room at Baláca - A balácai vörös ebédlő dekorációs rendszere és rekonstrukciója

the period between 60-120 A.D.

267 She put the destroyment and levelling of the wall-paintings belonging to the group I. to the end of the 2

nd century-beginning of the 3

rd century A.D.

268 In his comprehensive study written on the inner decorations of Roman buildings, published in 1970, I. Wellner accepted the terminology of E. B. Thomas and also the numbering according to the rooms of the main building. However, in contradiction to her, he connected the Red Dining Room with the Third Pompeian Style and stayed that it belonged to the last third of the 1

st century A.D.

269 In a study published on the Roman wall-paintings in Pannónia M. Frizot wrote that the Baláca wall-paintings were made at the end of the 1

st century A.D., and stated that they could be connected with the spread of the Fourth Pompeian Style in the provinces.

270 During the study of the decorative system of the so-called Yellow-Lilac Room, T. Gesztelyi came to the conclusion that the wall-painting was made under the emperor Hadrianus.

271 In 1998, A. Barbet, too, summarizing studies on the wall-paintings found in Hungary, connected with the Fourth Pompeian Style

272 the wall-paintings of the Yellow-Lilac room

273 of Baláca, reconstructed again by E. Král-I. Felhősi and on the basis of the decoration elements put them into the 2

nd century A.D.

274 When she studied the room No. 11. of the building No. I. of Baláca, S. Palágyi compared the stucco decoration with relief of the room No. 11 of Baláca with the painted stucco fragments of the Red Dining Room originated from the excavations of Gy. Rhé and with the stucco-decorations of the Balatonfüred villa. She connected the three decorated stuccos to the activity of the same workshop. And on the basis of the silver-coated fibula or harness she established that they were completed in the second quarter of the 2

nd century A.D.

275 We are able to give a more exact dating of the Red Dining Room by the joint consideration of the following aspects: archeological, stratigraphical data, the study of the finds, the analysis of the stylistical characteristics, motif stock of the wall-painting, and the chronology of analogous representations. Already Gy. Rhé took notice of the wall remains of an earlier building under the main building (No. I.)

276 Gy. Rhé gave a detailed description on the stratigraphie position and conditions of finding of the wall-painting fragments. From these data it is clear that on the yellow subsoil over an ash layer there were alternating yellow-black soil layers, on which the wall fragments appeared as a thick infilling.

277 Directly over the fragments there was a terrazzoüoor, which protected them from destroyment.

278 As for ther wall-paintings, the fragments with harvest scene, the ones belonging to the group II. of Gy. Rhé were at the bottom of the infilling, over it the also badly preserved black and red fragments, mixed up with each other, while over them first the wellpreserved black and red, and over them, at the top, the yellow wall-painting fragments came to light.

279 During the excavations started again and directed by S. Palágyi in the southern part of the main building (No. I.) the walls of an earlier building with partly different orientation (No. XIII) came to light.

280 The building No. XIII. was destroyed in the second half of the 2

nd century A.D., and later, to the north of it, at the end of the 2

nd century A.D.- at the beginning of the 3

rd century A.D. was built the main building (No. I.) decorated with mosaics.

281 The fragments belonging to the groups I. and II. of Gy. Rhé, found under the terrazzoüoor of the corridor No. 4. of the main building (No. I.) can be connected most probably with the levelling of ground preceding the construction of the main building (No. I.). From the viewpoint of the dating of the wall-paintings the end of the 2

nd century A.D. is by all means a terminus antequem. After the complete study and the publication of the building No. XIII we will be able to answer the question whether the fragments