Richborough Roman Town and Fort

Rutupiae

United Kingdom · Kent, England

Ancient cityIntermittent excavation
Approximate period43 CE — 410 CERoman period See on the map ↓

In brief

Used during the Roman invasion in AD 43, the site developed over time into an important port town. Extensive excavations have been conducted at different times inside the late Roman fort and in the town's amphitheater.

What was found?

  • 1Painted plaster on the arena wall

    These are the remains of panels separated by black or red vertical bands. They are among the rare surviving examples of arena wall paintings in the Roman world.

  • 2Outer wall of turf blocks

    This is an amphitheater wall built by stacking blocks of turf and soil. It documents a structural solution different from those of other known amphitheaters in Britain.

  • 3Late Roman coins

    The numerous late coins around the amphitheater show that activity also continued in the town's outer areas. They are important for dating the settlement's final phases.

  • 4Cat skeleton

    This is a cat skeleton found in the activity area outside the amphitheater. According to researchers, it may have been a buried pet; this interpretation is uncertain.

  • 5Early defensive ditches

    These are parallel ditches that protected the Roman army's first base on the coast. They document the site's military phase before its transformation into a port town.

What does it point to?

Richborough shows that a military base, port town and late fort succeeded one another in the same place. Domestic and production-related traces around the amphitheater also reveal that it was part of a broader area of everyday life beyond the spectacle building.

What did it teach us?

  1. It revealed that the amphitheater's arena wall was painted.
  2. It documented the use of turf blocks as a load-bearing outer wall in a large spectacle building.
  3. It showed that the establishment of a fort in the late period did not entirely end urban life in the surrounding area.

Latest news / selected archive

The 2021 excavations revealed painted plaster on the amphitheater's arena wall and established that its outer wall was built from turf blocks.

Record

Culture
Roman Britain
Team / historical
Historic England Archaeological Excavation Team; Tony Wilmott
Coordinates
51.2940°, 1.3320°

Sources

  1. english-heritage.org.uk
  2. english-heritage.org.uk
  3. heritage.kent.gov.uk
  4. en.wikipedia.org

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