BU Academic Revives Historical Landmark in New Book
When visitors return to Fishbourne Roman Palace in West Sussex this April they’ll be able to purchase a brand-new guidebook to the internationally famous site, courtesy of Bournemouth University (BU) academic Dr Miles Russell.
Miles said: “I first visited Fishbourne on a school trip aged seven in 1974 and I still possess the school homework project I wrote immediately after. Half a century later, and I still can’t believe that I’ve been asked to write the new version of the official guide. It’s a dream come true!”
Fishbourne Roman Palace in Chichester is one of the largest excavated Roman homes in Britain. Part of the ruins were discovered in 1805 and later excavated by the Sussex Archaeological Society from 1961, who currently look after the palace.
Miles, Director of Fieldwork in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at BU, has written the guide to help visitors navigate their way through the vast ruins of the site. Miles said: “Fishbourne is a unique site, being the earliest and largest Roman civilian residence in Britain with a footprint greater than Buckingham Palace.”
Fishbourne has the earliest Roman mosaics visible in Britain and some of the most luxurious examples of imperial-style fresco painting anywhere in Northwest Europe. It also has a life size image in Italian marble of a 14-year old Nero, found during excavations in the 1960s, which is one of only five such depictions of the young teenage emperor in existence today.
The Sussex Archaeological Society is a registered charity which promotes, protects and provides access to the history and heritage of Sussex. All proceeds from the sale of the guidebook will go to the charity. Miles said: “The charity relies on donations from members of the public, so we wanted to find a way of helping it to get back on its feet after low visitor numbers to its sites during the lockdown in 2020.”
Fishbourne is now open between April to November, from 10am to 5pm, seven days a week.