Fishbourne Roman Palace
Fishbourne Roman Palace, discovered in nearby fields in 1960, is the largest known Roman residential building north of the Alps. Its discovery reshaped understanding of Roman Britain and put the Fishbourne area on the international archaeological map.
The Discovery
In 1960, a workman named Aubrey Barrett was cutting a trench for a new water main when he struck Roman rubble and the unmistakable remains of a mosaic floor. The find was reported to the Sussex Archaeological Society.
Between 1961 and 1968, eight excavation seasons were conducted under the direction of Barry Cunliffe, then a young archaeologist who would go on to become one of the leading figures in British archaeology. The excavations revealed not a modest villa but a palatial complex, far larger and more elaborate than anything previously found in Roman Britain.
Cogidubnus: The Client King
The identity of the palace's owner remains debated, but the leading theory, advanced by Barry Cunliffe and now widely accepted, associates it with Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus (also recorded as Togidubnus), a British client king who allied himself with Rome during and after the invasion of 43 AD.
The name itself is contested. The majority of manuscript copies of Tacitus give "Cogidumnus," while one reads "Togidumnus." Celtic linguists regard "Togidubnus" as the more correct form, since the name element dubno- means "deep" or "world" in Brittonic Celtic. Oxford Reference now lists the entry under "Togidubnus," reflecting a growing scholarly preference, though "Cogidubnus" remains widely used. Both forms are defensible.
Cogidubnus was probably a member of the Atrebatic royal house, the tribe whose territory encompassed the Chichester area. When the Catuvellaunian king Caratacus overthrew the pro-Roman Atrebatic king Verica around 40 AD, Verica fled to Rome, providing Emperor Claudius with the diplomatic pretext for invasion. Cogidubnus appears to have cooperated with the Roman forces during the invasion of 43 AD, providing a safe harbour at Chichester for the campaign into the south-west. In return, he was confirmed as client king of the Regnenses, with authority over multiple tribal territories.
Tacitus, writing around 98 AD, described Cogidubnus as fidissimus, "most faithful," and noted that "some states were given to king Cogidumnus, who lived down to our day a most faithful ally." Tacitus was frank about the strategy: "So was maintained the ancient and long-recognised practice of the Roman people, which seeks to secure among the instruments of dominion even kings themselves."
Cogidubnus received the tria nomina, the three-part Roman name (Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus), signifying a grant of Roman citizenship. The praenomen and nomen were taken from Emperor Claudius himself, a personal honour indicating the emperor's direct patronage.
The Chichester Inscription
In 1723, a stone slab was found during cellar digging at the corner of St Martin's Lane and North Street in Chichester. The inscription, now set into the wall of Chichester Council House, records the dedication of a temple to Neptune and Minerva. The critical lines read: "by the authority of Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, great king of Britain, the guild of craftsmen and those who are members gave this temple at their own expense."
The reading "great king of Britain" (rex magnus Britanniae) was proposed by the Dutch epigrapher J.E. Bogaers in 1979, based on close study of the damaged stone. An earlier reading had restored the text as "king and imperial legate in Britain," which created the difficulty of explaining how a native client king held a senatorial Roman title. Bogaers's reading is now more widely accepted, though the alternative still has defenders.
The title "great king" is unusual for a Roman client ruler and may reflect the exceptional scope of Cogidubnus's authority. He appears to have governed multiple tribal territories rather than a single community, a concentration of power that Rome found useful for maintaining stability in the newly conquered province.
The Palace
The palace was constructed around 75 to 80 AD, built around a formal garden in the Mediterranean style. The building and its grounds covered roughly ten acres. It featured colonnaded walkways with some 160 stone columns, a monumental entrance hall, an audience chamber, bath suites, and over 100 rooms, many with elaborate mosaic floors and painted wall plaster.
The palace was designed and built by imported craftsmen. Artisans from Italy and Gaul brought techniques, materials, and decorative styles that closely parallel contemporary Italian models. Local British craftsmen had not yet learned the required skills at this early date. The formal courtyard garden, laid out with shaped beds for hedges and trees and supplied with water for fountains, is the earliest formal garden found anywhere in Britain.
The scale of the palace implies patronage at the highest level. Only a client king enriched through Roman alliance and with direct access to imperial resources could have commanded such a project at such an early date. The building is comparable in size to Nero's Domus Aurea in Rome or the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily. Its construction coincides with the reign of the emperor Vespasian, who as a young legionary commander had led the campaign in the south-west from this area in 43 AD and would have known Cogidubnus personally.
The Mosaics
The palace is celebrated for its mosaic floors, which are among the finest and earliest examples of Roman decorative art found in Britain. As many as fifty mosaic floors were installed across the building's history. The early examples are black-and-white geometric patterns with Mediterranean motifs: waves, dolphins, floral borders. These closely resemble work found at Pompeii and Arles, suggesting that the mosaicists themselves came from Italy or Gaul.
The most famous is the Cupid on a Dolphin mosaic, a polychrome panel in the north wing depicting Cupid astride a dolphin, flanked by sea horses and sea panthers, enclosed within elaborate geometric borders. This is a second-century work, produced during later renovations to the palace and of a more sophisticated style than the original first-century floors.
After Cogidubnus
The exact date of Cogidubnus's death is unknown. Scholarly estimates cluster around 80 AD, with some allowing for a later date. Tacitus, writing in the late 90s, uses the phrase "down to our day," which may imply Cogidubnus was recently dead or still alive in living memory. Upon his death, the client kingdom was absorbed into the Roman provincial system. The Regnenses became a civitas, a self-governing tribal unit within the province. Cogidubnus's family presumably reverted to the status of wealthy private landowners.
The palace itself continued in use for nearly two centuries after his death. Extensive second-century and third-century renovations replaced many of the original black-and-white mosaics with more sophisticated polychrome work, including the celebrated Cupid on a Dolphin. The building was maintained and updated until fire destroyed the north wing around 270 AD.
The Fire and the Crisis of the Third Century
Archaeological evidence shows the north wing was destroyed by fire around 270 AD. Scorched walls, collapsed burning roofs, discoloured tiles, and refired pottery tell the story. Renovations had been in progress at the time; the fire struck while work was being done. The damage was so severe that the palace could not be repaired. It was abandoned and progressively dismantled for building materials.
The wider context matters. The Roman Empire was in crisis. From 235 AD, rapid turnover of emperors (many assassinated by their own troops) had destabilised the entire imperial system. In 260, Emperor Valerian was captured by the Sasanian Persians. The Empire fragmented into three competing states: the Roman Empire proper, the breakaway Gallic Empire (which included Britain, Gaul, and Spain), and the Palmyrene Empire in the east. Britain was part of the Gallic Empire from roughly 260 to 274.
Economic depression, currency devaluation, plague, and constant barbarian pressure characterised the period. Along the south coast of Britain, Saxon and Frankish raiders were an increasing threat. Whether the palace fire was accidental, caused by raiders, or connected to the wider political instability is unknown. What is clear is that by the time the fire struck, the world that had built and sustained the palace no longer existed.
Ivan D. Margary
The preservation of Fishbourne Roman Palace owes much to Ivan Donald Margary (1896 to 1976), a wealthy Sussex antiquarian best known for his comprehensive survey of Roman roads in Britain. In 1962, Margary purchased the land containing the palace remains and donated it to the Sussex Archaeological Society (now Sussex Past), ensuring its permanent protection and public accessibility.
Without Margary's intervention, the site would likely have been built over. The land was earmarked for residential development.
The Museum
Fishbourne Roman Palace museum opened in 1968 and attracted over 250,000 visitors in its first season. The museum is built over the excavated remains of the north wing, allowing visitors to view the mosaic floors in their original positions. The formal garden has been replanted to its Roman-era plan.
The museum is owned and operated by Sussex Past (formerly the Sussex Archaeological Society) and remains one of the most visited heritage attractions in the south of England.