Description

The discovery, during the early 1960s, of the site of a Roman Palace and its garden at Fishbourne, near Chichester, remains the most important and exciting event in Romano-British archaeology over the last half-century. Since his original excavation, Barry Cunliffe has kept in close contact with work on the site and more is now known about the building itself and about its place in the development of Roman Britain. It is still believed that this huge building - covering 10 acres and furnished with many mosaic floors and other luxurious appointments - was indeed a palace, probably belonging to Tiberius Claudius Togidubnus, who has been granted Roman citizenship under Claudius and who as a client king was responsible for governing the area in which the palace was situated. As remarkable as the palace itself is the large formal garden, laid out with paths, hedges, fountains and basins. No comparable Roman garden has been discovered west of Italy. Professor Cunliffe describes the whole story of the historic excavation, unfolding the history of the site from the early military beginnings down to the final destruction of the palace by fire.