Noviomagus Reginorum

Chichester stands on the English Channel in West Sussex, once the heart of the Roman town Noviomagus Reginorum. The settlement began as a winter fort for the Second Augustan Legion under Vespasian shortly after the invasion in AD 43. It later became the capital of the Civitas Reginorum, ruled by Tiberius Claudius Cogidubus, who is mentioned on a temple dedication. The River Lavant was diverted to supply water, and public buildings included baths beneath Tower Street and an amphitheatre near the cattle market. A stone wall with bastions was built in the fourth century, and cemeteries lay outside the gates. The town produced fine tableware and enamelwork, and its importance grew in the second century. A bronze works from Nero’s reign and a dedication to him dated AD 58 show its early prosperity. Fishbourne Roman Palace, a mile west, may have been Cogidubus’s residence, and a mosaic from Noviomagus is displayed there. The name Noviomagus Reginorum comes from Ptolemy’s mention of Νοιομαγος, though its exact location was uncertain. The town declined by the 380s, possibly due to Saxon raids, and was later renamed Chichester. Visitors can see Roman remains in several places. A fine mosaic lies beneath Chichester Cathedral, and another at Fishbourne Roman Palace. A bastion survives in the Bishop’s Palace gardens, while The Novium museum holds finds including a Roman bathhouse. The cathedral itself stands on the site of a Roman basilica, and Chichester Castle was built later in the north of the old town. Though little of Noviomagus survives above ground, these scattered traces offer glimpses of its past.