Fishbourne Roman Palace
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Fishbourne Roman Palace, in the village of Fishbourne in West Sussex, is one of the most important archaeological sites in the United Kingdom. Although local people had known of the existence of Roman remains in the area, it was not until 1960 that the archaeologist Barry Cunliffe first systematically excavated the site, which had been accidentally uncovered by workmen.
The Roman villa excavated by Cunliffe's team was so large that it became known as Fishbourne Roman Palace, and a museum was erected to protect and preserve some of the remains in situ. This is administered by the Sussex Archaeological Society.
The palace consisted of four large wings with colonnaded fronts, forming a square around a formal garden. The north and east wings consisted of suites of rooms built around courtyards, with a monumental entrance in the middle of the east wing. In the north-east corner was an aisled assembly hall. The west wing contained state rooms, a large ceremonial reception room, and a gallery. The south wing contained the owner's private apartments. The palace also included as many as 50 mosaic floors, under-floor central heating and an integral bathhouse. In size, it is approximately equivalent to Nero's Golden House in Rome or to the Roman villa at Piazza Armerina in Sicily, and is by far the largest Roman residence known north of the Alps. At about 500 feet (150 metres) square, it is comparable in size to Buckingham Palace.
A modern museum has been built, incorporating most of the visible remains including one wing of the palace. The gardens have been re-planted using authentic plants from the Roman period. There is still the prospect of further finds, and a team of volunteers and professional archaeologists is involved in a continuing research excavation on the site of military buildings that are believed to have stood close to the main building.
The first buildings on the site were granaries, apparently a military store constructed in the early part of the Roman conquest (43 AD). Later, two timber-frame buildings were constructed, one with clay and mortar floors and plaster walls which appears to have been a dwelling house of some comfort. These buildings were demolished in the 60s and replaced by a substantial stone-walled house, which included a courtyard garden with colonnades and a bath suite. The palace itself, incorporating the previous house in its south-east corner, was begun ca. 73 AD.
The most widely accepted theory, proposed by Professor Cunliffe, is that the palace was the residence of Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, a pro-Roman local chieftain who was installed as king of a number of territories following the first stage of the conquest. Cogidubnus is known from a reference to his loyalty in Tacitus's Agricola, and from an inscribed altar found in nearby Chichester.
The palace outlasted Cogidubnus and was extensively re-planned in the 2nd century. Further redevelopment was begun in the late 3rd century, but these alterations were left incomplete when the north wing was destroyed in a fire. The damage was too great to repair, and the palace was abandoned and later dismantled.
References
- Peter Clayton (ed) (1980), A Companion to Roman Britain
- John Morris (1982), Londinium: London in the Roman Empire
- Keith Brannigan (1980), Roman Britain: Life in an Imperial Province
External links
- Fishbourne Roman Palace Museum (http://www.sussexpast.co.uk/property/site.php?site_id=11)