A painting with hundreds of years of history could be lost forever according to English Heritage.

The charity say through a lack of proper restoration, as well as suffering with the damp English climate, the 1,800-year-old painting at Lullingstone Roman Villa is at serious risk.

WATCH: Roman villa painting under threat

“The mural is attached to a Roman building which is covered by a modern roof,” explained English Heritage's Roy Porter.

“But the environmental conditions under the roof still change - the temperature can change, relative humidity can change, damp levels can change, and all of those things still affect the mural.

“What we want to do is stabilise the works so that their condition doesn't change, we’re trying to retire the processes of deterioration.”

Many of the pictures the villa walls once housed have now eroded and faded.

The charity is appealing to the public to make sure one of the few remaining pictures of it’s kind in the country does not follow suit.

“What we want to try and do is focus on the causes of the problem before we try and conserve the painting,” said the villa's Samantha Matthews.

“It’s one of the few Roman paintings that we actually have in a Roman villa.

“It’s a really rare piece of artwork that we have so it would be such a shame to lose it.”

If you want to get involved and donate to the painting’s restoration, you can do so via English Heritage's website.

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