HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Fishbourne Roman Palace (or Fishbourne Villa) is located in the village of
Fishbourne Fishbourne may refer to: Places * Fishbourne, Isle of Wight, a village * Fishbourne, West Sussex, a village ** Fishbourne (UK electoral ward) * Fishbourne Roman Palace Fishbourne Roman Palace (or Fishbourne Villa) is located in the village of ...
,
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
in
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
. The
palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
is the largest Roman residence north of the Alps. and has an unusually early date of 75 CE, around thirty years after the
Roman conquest of Britain The Roman conquest of Britain refers to the conquest of the island of Britain by occupying Roman forces. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain by 87 when the Stan ...
. Much of the palace has been excavated and is preserved, along with an on-site museum. The rectangular palace surrounded
formal garden A formal garden is a garden with a clear structure, geometric shapes and in most cases a symmetrical layout. Its origin goes back to the gardens which are located in the desert areas of Western Asia and are protected by walls. The style of a forma ...
s, the northern parts of which have been reconstructed. Extensive alterations were made in the second and third centuries CE, when many of the original black and white mosaics were overlaid with more sophisticated coloured work, including the perfectly preserved Dolphin mosaic in the north wing. More alterations were in progress when the palace burnt down in around 270 CE, after which it was abandoned.


Discovery and excavation

The site itself was accidentally discovered in 1805, during the construction of a new home on the grounds of the ancient Roman ruin.  Workers discovered pavement as well as fragments of columns. In the following years, additional remains such as pottery fragments and portions of mosaic tiles were unearthed by local inhabitants who lived within close proximity to the site. However, the locals were unable to conceive the fact that the findings were part of a larger unknown structure that remained below the surface. It wasn't until 1960, that Aubrey Barrett, an engineer working for the Portsmouth Water Company, discovered the foundations of a “masonry building” located north of the main road while digging a trench for a water main. This rediscovery of the ancient structure caught the attention of the Sussex Archeological Society and triggered the first series of excavations, directed by archeologist
Barry Cunliffe Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe, (born 10 December 1939), known as Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been an Emeri ...
and his team in 1961. Cunliffe's findings from his digs provide the most significant portion of the information associated with the site.  In the years following the initial excavations led by Cunliffe, a series of further excavations were conducted, each of which focused on unearthing various other areas of the ancient site. To the surprise of archeologists and historians alike, each stage of excavations revealed previously unknown details surrounding the site's vast and complex history. For instance, from 1995 to 1999, archeologists
John Manley John Paul Manley (born January 5, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the eighth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2002 to 2003. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to ...
and David Rudkin conducted digs that focused on southern portions of the site, which exposed significant evidence of human activity prior to the Roman conquest in 43 CE.  Over the course of five years, Manley's team of archeologists discovered nearly twelve thousand artifacts, including flint tools that are believed to date back to the Mesolithic period (around 5000–4000 BCE) and could indicate the presence of a hunter and gatherer settlement near the present-day location of the Fishbourne palace. However, the most intriguing and significant evidence of pre-Roman human activity at the site comes from a ditch containing nearly seven hundred fragments of pottery and a cup that can be traced back to a period within the Late Iron Age. The findings made by Manley and his team challenge Cunliffe's earlier assumptions by suggesting the likely presence of significant human activity at Fishbourne prior to 43 CE. The site of the excavated
Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...
 was so large that it became known as Fishbourne Roman Palace. In size, it is approximately equivalent to
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
's
Golden House The Domus Aurea (Latin, "Golden House") was a vast landscaped complex built by the Emperor Nero largely on the Oppian Hill in the heart of ancient Rome after the great fire in 64 AD had destroyed a large part of the city.Roth (1993) It replac ...
in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
or to the Villa Romana del Casale near to
Piazza Armerina Piazza Armerina ( Gallo-Italic of Sicily: ''Ciazza''; Sicilian: ''Chiazza'') is a '' comune'' in the province of Enna of the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy. History The city of Piazza (as it was called before 1862) develop ...
in
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, and in plan it closely mirrors the basic organization of the emperor
Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...
's palace, the Domus Flavia, completed in 92 CE upon the
Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...
in Rome. Fishbourne is by far the largest Roman residence known north of the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
. At about , it has a larger footprint than
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
.


Siting

The location of Fishbourne, in proximity to
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
(''
Noviomagus Reginorum Noviomagus Reginorum was Chichester's Roman heart, very little of which survives above ground. It lay in the land of the friendly Atrebates and is in the early medieval-founded English county of West Sussex. On the English Channel, Chichester ...
''), is often looked to when discussing the opulent wealth represented at Fishbourne as well as solidification for the claim of Cogidubnus as the villa owner. The city of Chichester was in the heart of the dominant
Atrebates The Atrebates (Gaulish: *''Atrebatis'', 'dwellers, land-owners, possessors of the soil') were a Belgic tribe of the Iron Age and the Roman period, originally dwelling in the Artois region. After the tribes of Gallia Belgica were defeated by ...
tribe, but their early introduction to Roman imperialism created a pseudo-friendly relationship between the Romans and the Atrebates. The tribal people in the area were later called the '' Regni'' after being ruled by Roman client kings for so long. A research article written by David Tomalin, suggests that the Fishbourne palace may have possibly been designated as a "seat of lordship", which meant that it may have had greater financial and social authority as opposed to other palaces or villas in its vicinity. Furthermore, the palace's proximity to the Fishbourne channel, which provided ships with access to the sea, meant that it could have potentially had its own harbour that received trading ships at one point.


History and description

The first buildings on the site were
granaries A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals ...
, over long, apparently a supply base for the
Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
constructed in the early part of the
conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, ...
in 43 CE. Later, two residential timber-frame buildings were constructed, one with clay and mortar floors and plaster walls which appears to have been a house of some comfort. These buildings were demolished around 60 CE and replaced nearby with an elaborate and substantial stone-walled villa, or proto-palace, in about 65 CE which included a courtyard garden with colonnades and a bath suite, together with two other buildings, and using material taken from the earlier buildings. It was decorated with wall paintings, stucco mouldings and ''
opus sectile ''Opus sectile'' is a form of pietra dura popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The ...
'' marble polychrome panels. The life-size head of a young man carved in marble, found during excavations in May 1964, and identified as a likeness of
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
aged 13 created at, or shortly after, his formal adoption by the
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...
in 50 CE probably originated from the proto-palace. Foreign, probably Italian, craftsmen had to be employed at this early period. This building was not unique in this area as the villa at
Angmering Angmering is a village and civil parish between Littlehampton and Worthing in West Sussex on the southern edge of the South Downs National Park, England; about two-thirds of the parish (mostly north of the A27 road) fall within the Park. It is ...
was similar in many respects and suggests a number of aristocrats living in the area who must have used the same workforce. The full-size palace with four residential wings surrounding a formal courtyard garden of was built in around 75–80 CE and took around five years to complete, incorporating the proto-palace in its south-east corner. Massive levelling of the vast site reached up to in places. The gardens were surrounded by
colonnades In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curve ...
in the form of a
peristyle In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle (; from Greek ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön ( grc, τετράστῳον or τετράστοον, lit=f ...
. The north and east wings each 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 a huge aisled assembly hall. The west wing contained state rooms, a large ceremonial reception room, and a gallery. The south wing probably contained the owner's private apartments although the north wing has the most elaborate visible
mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s. The palace included as many as 50 excellent mosaic floors, under-floor central heating and an integral bathhouse. The garden was shown to contain elaborate plantings of shaped beds for hedges and trees with water supplies for fountains. In addition the south wing overlooked a vast artificial terrace laid out as a rectangular garden extending 300 ft towards the sea where there was a quay wall. This garden was planted as a "natural" landscape with trees and shrubs, and with a pond and stream. It also had colonnades on at least one side. The decoration of the palace was elaborate, including wall paintings, stucco mouldings and ''opus sectile'', marble polychrome panels, examples of which are in the museum. As in the proto-palace, foreign craftsmen had to be employed at this early period.The palace outlasted the original owner and was extensively re-modelled early in the 2nd century, and maybe subdivided into two or more separate villas with the addition of a baths suite in the north wing. A remarkable new Medusa mosaic was also laid over an earlier one in the centre of the north wing in about 100 CE. In the middle of the second century CE, further major redesign included demolition of the recent baths suite and the eastern end of the north wing, probably due to subsidence from underlying earlier infill. New baths were built in the garden and peristyle in front of the east wing and a wall across the garden enclosed the northern half. The north wing was also extensively altered in plan, with four new polychrome mosaics including the Cupid mosaic dating from about 160 CE. Further redevelopment was done at times in the late third century. The final alterations were incomplete when the north wing was destroyed in a fire .


Owner of the palace

The accepted theory, first proposed by Barry Cunliffe, is that the early phase of the palace was the residence of Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus (or Togidubnus), 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 Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
's '' Agricola'', and from an inscription commemorating a temple dedicated to
Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 time ...
and
Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the R ...
found in nearby
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
. Furthermore, around 60 CE, Cogidubnus was granted the prominent title of ''legatus Augusti'', which normally restricted to the statesmen and aristocrats of Rome. Cunliffe correlates this event with the construction of a large masonry extension of the palace in 70 CE, which was fitting for an individual of such a high status in order to support his theory. Another theory is that it was built for another native, Sallustius Lucullus, a
Roman governor A Roman governor was an official either elected or appointed to be the chief administrator of Roman law throughout one or more of the many Roman province, provinces constituting the Roman Empire. The generic term in Roman legal language was ''Re ...
of Britain of the late 1st century who may have been the son of the British prince Adminius. Two inscriptions recording the presence of Lucullus have been found in nearby Chichester and the re-dating, by Miles Russell, of the palace to the early 90s CE, would fit far more securely with such an interpretation. If the palace were designed for Lucullus, then it may have only been in use for a few years, for the Roman historian
Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τ� ...
records that Lucullus was executed by the delusional emperor Domitian in or shortly after 93 CE. Additional theories suggest that owner of the palace was either Verica, a British
client king A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...
of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
in the years preceding the Claudian invasion, or even one Tiberius Claudius Catuarus, whose gold
signet ring A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, or to prevent interference with a ...
was discovered nearby in 1995.


Destruction and aftermath

There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that the north wing was completely destroyed in a fire around 270 CE. For instance, some of the rubble from the collapsed roof as well as its tiles and melted fittings were scattered on the ground floor, while some of the burnt doors remained standing. There is also evidence of extreme heat that can be found on the tiles, which were discoloured. The fire did not consume the east wing of the palace, although the decision was later made to demolish the baths located in that wing around 290 CE. It is unclear whether the fire was accidental or intentional; however, its destruction correlated with a period of instability. During this period, Rome's control over Britain was contested by a former Roman military commander named
Carausius Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius (died 293) was a military commander of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. He was a Menapian from Belgic Gaul, who usurped power in 286, during the Carausian Revolt, declaring himself emperor in Britain and ...
, who revolted against the Roman hegemony and declared himself ruler of the Isle around 280 CE. In turn, it is possible that the palace's destruction was a part of a more widespread period of disruption caused by the revolt, although this scenario is not certain. All objects and furnishings within the palace were completely destroyed and the only thing that remained standing was the palace walls. The damage was too great to repair, and the palace was abandoned and later dismantled. Furthermore, the rising water levels and subsequent flooding in the surrounding area may have also influenced the decision not to restore the structure. Over the course of the following years, the local inhabitants of
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
raided the site for its building stones, which is why the ground-stone foundations of the walls are the only part of the ancient structure remaining today. The site of the palace was later used as a burial ground during the early Saxon period, which became clear upon the discovery of four corpses within the foundation of the ancient ruin. During the Medieval period, the palace lay below several feet of built-up soil and was forgotten about until its re-discovery in the 19th century.


Legacy

A museum was erected over the excavated palace by the Sussex Archaeological Society, in order to protect and preserve some of the remains ''in situ''. The museum incorporates most of the visible remains, including one wing of the palace. The gardens were re-planted using authentic plants from the
Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
, including roses, lilies, rosemary, various fruit trees and boxed hedges. A team of volunteers and professional archaeologists are involved in a continuing research
archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
on the site of nearby, possible military buildings as well as a harbour area located on the southern portion of the Fishbourne site. The latest excavation season was conducted in 2002. The Fishbourne Roman Palace Museum was closed to the public in March 2020 as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The Sussex Archaeological Society lost an estimated £1 million in income from visitors, and in June began a fundraising appeal so that it could continue maintaining Fishbourne Roman Palace along with other properties.


Gallery

File:Formal garden.JPG, Re-planted garden using authentic plants File:Stucco fragment fishbourne.jpg, Stucco fragment from Fishbourne File:Fishbourneromanpalaceshellmosaic.jpg, Shell mosaic with dolphins File:Mosaic room N7.jpg, Walled City mosaic, room N7 File:Dolphin mosaic middle.JPG, Dolphin mosaic


References


Further reading

* Barry Cunliffe (1998), ''Fishbourne Roman Palace''. The History Press. * Miles Russell (2006), ''Roman Sussex''. The History Press. * Miles Russell (2006), "Roman Britain's Lost Governor", ''Current Archaeology'' 204, pp. 630–635


External links


Fishbourne Roman Palace Museum
{{authority control Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century Buildings and structures in Roman Britain Buildings and structures in West Sussex Museums in West Sussex Museums of ancient Rome in the United Kingdom Archaeological museums in England Roman villas in West Sussex 1960 archaeological discoveries 1st-century establishments in Roman Britain 270s establishments in the Roman Empire 3rd-century disestablishments in Roman Britain Fishbourne