Situated on a river inlet near Chichester in Sussex, Fishbourne Roman Palace was discovered accidentally during the digging of a water trench in 1961. Excavated by Barry Cunliffe, the site was revealed as the site of a Celtic Oppidia before it became a military depot for the invading Roman forces.
The feature that makes the site famous is the palatial Roman villa that sprang up in around 60 AD. Laid out in four wings around a courtyard garden, it is one of the most magnificent villas in Roman Britain. Originally the home of either a Roman official or a highly cultured Romano British ruler.
King Cogidubnus’s Palace
Construction on the palace began around 60 AD. It started as a stone villa with a bathhouse, colonnade and servants’ quarters. In 75AD, this structure was enlarged and aggrandized into a Mediterranean style courtyard palace covering 4 hectares.
The palace was set out in four wings arranged around a central courtyard garden. The northern wing contained the guest quarters. To the west — built on a platform 1.5 m higher than the rest of the palace — were the public audience chambers and reception rooms. To the east was the main entrance of the palace and the servants’ quarters, while the southern wing of the palace was reserved for the main living quarters. It was in this wing that the only feature of the original villa remained: the bathhouse, which lay close to the river.
Fishbourne was slightly altered in the second century AD before its destruction by fire in the following century.
The original owner of the palace was believed to be King Cogidubnus, a client king who ruled on behalf of Rome. It may, however, have been a Roman official. Whoever the owner was, his decor and ornamentation displayed good taste on par with fashionable circles in Rome.
Roman Mosaics, Frescos and Statues at Fishbourne
Fishbourne was decorated and furnished in what were the latest Italian styles, as indicated by the fragments of wall paint and mosaic found on the site. Its statues were imported and its first century AD frescos bear a resemblance to the styles current in Stabiae before its destruction in 79AD.
The mosaic floors were elegant and would not have been out of place in fashionable Rome. Initial styles were of smart black and white geometrical patterns, although later owners added more complex mythological scenes.
Many of the artisans who built the palace were from Italy — as were many of the materials used in its construction. Chips of marble and imported stone from Italy and Greece have been found, indicating that the artisans of some skill and flair were working on the site.
The Gardens of Fishbourne Palace
Fishbourne’s Roman gardens were equally impressive, covering an area of 90m by 70m. The Italian-styled area was divided into two bordered lawns split
