A Palace at Fishbourne

A couple of weeks late but no matter. On our semi regular visits to Chichester take us past the Roman site at Fishbourne but somehow we've never stopped.  Time to change that!

We were there bright and early on a Sunday morning ( no school parties!!) so apart from a couple of other visitors we had the site pretty much to ourselves.

The palace was discovered by chance in  1960 during the digging of a new water main.  One of the finest Roman sites in Britain. There have been a number of phases of development here and some very early mosaic floor. Most of what is currently visible dates from approximately 75CE although it was continually updated and improved.

Surviving plaster gives a tantalising clue to the quality of the decoration and the mosaic floors are some of the best in Britain. Unfortunately the palace was badly damaged by fire in the third century and never really rebuilt, much of the stone being robbed out for reuse.

One of the earliest mosaics - monochrome but an amazing 3D effect nonetheless.

The famous Cupid and Dolphin mosaic. Hidden in the scroll border is a small black bird which has been suggested as representing the "signature" of the maker.

Although there is little evidence of the Palace remaining in use after the fire, there are some later Saxon burials on the site - this one was cut through one of the mosaics.

The palace was surrounded by formal gardens which have been partially recreated to give a feel of how the site looked. Some plants known to have been the contemporary gardens ( from pollen analysis) have been reintroduced. Obviously this is not the best time of year for garden shots!

and finally - some of the finds that didn't make it on to display. The sheer size of this store is incredible and I certainly hope they get a big discount from the maker of Really Useful Boxes!!

The Temple of Sulis at Bath

No walk this week for various reasons so more pictures from the archives.  I used to work in Bath so was able to visit the Roman Baths and the associated temple remains fairly regularly.

The site has recently had a makeover no doubt to "improve" the visitor experience. Whether it does is definitely debatable. I am not a great fan of the general "dumbing down" and "interpreting" of the remains and I don't think that large moving pictures of reconstructions and the associated sound effects add anything. I find them distracting and annoying but be that as it may. Judging by their proliferation I must be in a  minority

These pictures were taken before the recent changes, some of them would not be possible to take now.

This is the sacred spring itself. It bubbles constantly and in cooler weather you can see the steam rising. Many votive offerings have been found in here along with objects that may have been accidently lost by the priests and of course the famous curse tablets.

There is evidence of Neolithic activity here long before the Romans came and built the temple they dedicated to "Sulis Minerva". The importance of Sulis is reflected in her name preceding that of Minerva,  I am not aware of another case of conflation where the Roman  half of the deity did  not take precedence over the native god/dess. This surely indicates that Sulis ( also known as Sul) was a very important goddess and in fact there are archaeological finds here that originate from as far away as Egypt indicating her importance and power.

This is the famous Gorgon's Head. In fact there are only two snakes, the rest being hair. The main problem with this interpretation is of course that the Gorgon was female and this is unmistakeably a male face. Alternative interpretations are that this is the sea god, Oceanus, a view that is strengthened by the dolphins which form part of the frieze. Another theory is that this is a representation of a Celtic sun god.

 The Temple courtyard.  This was the sacred area surrounding the temple and housed the Great Altar where sacrifices to the Goddess were made, mainly cattle judging by the bones discovered. The area is surrounded by tombstones bearing Roman inscriptions. 

Part of the Great Altar.  Contemporary descriptions describe a fire of burning rocks kept alight on it. Almost certainly a description of coal which is found in the area.

Finally a video. This is taken in a corner of the courtyard and is of the overflow from the Sacred Spring. It captures the steam, the noise and the whole atmosphere of the Temple area.

Chedworth Roman Villa

Just down the road from last week is Chedworth Roman villa, one of the largest Roman villas in Britain.

 

This one is in the care of the National Trust who have applied their usual heavy hand to it and as a consequence it has lost a lot of its ambience. Still it is neatly kept with concrete paths and trimmed grass and some nicely dumbed down signs....


Much of the site is currently closed for "redevelopment" and "improvement", these pictures are from a previous trip last year. According to their website they do seem to have now added a "Roman Retail Experience" whatever that means - I guess a shop selling souvenirs!

There are still some interesting areas - such as this domestic water shrine fed by a spring that never dries up. A small altar once stood at the far end and offerings to the guardians of the spring were made ( and still are judging by the number of coins in the pool)

Another interesting feature are the original Roman latrines. The NT couldn't resist adding a large coloured sign to interpret what they might have looked at in use. I've spared you that!

Leaving the rather sterile exterior, there is an on site museum which is much more interesting. Here are the statues and plaques of the household and other deities. Some are clearly carved and can be identified.  Others are fainter and have yet to be attributed. Some may be local God/esses whose names have been lost.

These alone make the trip worthwhile along with the reconstructive models showing the lay out of the villa and what it may have looked like.

Walking the Labyrinth

Spent the weekend with some friends at their home in Chichester, West Sussex. After last weeks debacle I was definitely in need of some exercise so quite up for a wander on the South Downs. The plan was  (as usual!) a 5 mile of so walk and a nice pub for lunch.

Another glorious day. The walk started off in some woodland, climbed gently on to Bignor Hill and descended gently into Houghton to the "George and Dragon" for lunch ( Nice food but a bit pricey).

The hedgerows are thick with flowers including lots of mugwort and silverweed which doesn't grow anywhere near where I live. This is chalk downland and there were a number of plants I made a note of to look up later.


We are all feeling suitably refreshed so decide to extend the walk into Amberley. This must be one of the most pictureque villages around. Thatched cottages abound, tearoom, 12C church and a hotel in a castle. Couldn't ask for more!  It did however turn a 5 mile walk into a 12 mile one!

Although we had climbed Bignor Hill, the Roman farm and villa wasn't visible so we had to take the car down to pay it a visit. Some superb Roman mosaics here but much of the site is buried to preserve it.

















The mosaics are kept under cover to help protect them but outside on the grass the owners had laid out a unicursive labyrinth and the later Roman style "geometric" one for visitors to walk so of course we did both!

Interestingly the classical labyrinth was much more calming and soothing to walk than the far more complex ( and much longer) Roman version. I know which one I preferred.