Fishbourne Roman Palace

 museum, interesting place, historic landmark

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Discovered by workmen in 1961, this is the largest building of roman origin north of the Alps. Finds at the site show that the palace was built for a client king of the Romans called Cogidubnus. A good museum has displays about Roman life, and the history of Roman Britain, along with some of the finest examples of early mosaic art, including the "world famous" Boy on a Dolphin. A favourite destination of school trips from all over the south of England, should bring back memories for many.


Fishbourne Roman Palace, in the village of Fishbourne in West Sussex, is one of the most important archaeological sites in England. 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 when a water main was being laid. 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. A team of volunteers and professional archaeologists are involved in a continuing research excavation on the site of nearby, possibly military, buildings. The last dig in 2002 produced some interesting results, and the final report is eagerly awaited.

The first buildings on the site were granaries, apparently a supply base for the Roman army, constructed in the early part of the conquest (43). 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.

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. Another theory is that it was built for Sallustius Lucullus, a Roman governor of Britain of the late 1st century who may have been the son of the British prince Adminius.

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 in 270. The damage was too great to repair, and the palace was abandoned and later dismantled.The dismantled parts were reused in the constructions of other buildings in the surrounding area.

wikipedia:
[edit] 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
Miles Russell (2006), "Roman Britain's Lost Governor", Current Archaeology 204, pp. 630-635
Norman Hammond, "Whose busts are they?", The Times, 31 July 2006, retrieved 31 August 2006.