Fishbourne Roman Palace

Fishbourne Roman Palace stands in the village of Fishbourne near Chichester in West Sussex. It is the largest known Roman residence north of the Alps, built around 75 AD, only thirty years after the Roman conquest of Britain. The palace once surrounded formal gardens, parts of which have been reconstructed. Excavations reveal it was altered in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, with early black-and-white mosaics later overlaid by colourful designs, including the well-preserved Dolphin mosaic in the north wing. The palace was still being altered when it burnt down about 270 AD and was abandoned. The site was first noticed in 1805 when workers found a wide pavement and column fragments while building a house. Locals later uncovered pottery and mosaic pieces but did not recognise them as part of a larger structure. In 1960 Aubrey Barrett, an engineer, found further foundations while digging a trench. This led to excavations directed by archaeologist Barry Cunliffe in 1961, which uncovered much of the palace’s layout. Later digs by John Manley and David Rudkin from 1995 to 1999 revealed signs of earlier human activity, including Mesolithic flint tools and Late Iron Age pottery fragments. Visitors walk through the excavated remains of the palace, which once covered about 500,000 square feet. The four residential wings surround a formal courtyard garden measuring 250 by 320 feet, bordered by colonnades. The north wing holds the most elaborate mosaics, including the Dolphin mosaic, while the east wing has a monumental entrance. The west wing contains state rooms and a ceremonial reception hall, and the south wing likely held private apartments. The garden included shaped hedges, trees, fountains, and a pond with a stream. Nearby, a vast artificial terrace extended towards the sea, planted with trees and shrubs and overlooked by the south wing.