Fishbourne Roman Palace facts for kids

This museum model shows what Fishbourne Roman Palace might have looked like.

Look at this amazing dolphin mosaic!

The entrance to the Fishbourne Roman Palace site and museum.

Fishbourne Palace is a giant Roman house, almost like a palace! It was built a long time ago, in the 1st century AD. This was about 30 years after the Romans took over Britain. You can find it near the coast in Fishbourne, a village close to Chichester in West Sussex.

The palace was built on the site of an old Roman army base. This base was used during the Roman invasion led by Emperor Claudius in 43 AD.

A Super-Sized Roman Palace

Fishbourne Palace is the biggest Roman home ever found north of the Alps mountains. It is about 500 feet (150 meters) square. That makes it even bigger than Buckingham Palace! It's also similar in size to Emperor Nero's Golden House in Rome. Another huge Roman house, the villa at Piazza Armerina in Sicily, is also about this size.

The palace's design is very much like the palace of Emperor Domitian in Rome. His palace, called the Domus Flavia, was finished in 92 AD. This shows how grand and important Fishbourne Palace must have been.

Beautiful Gardens and Mosaics

The palace was built around beautiful, formal gardens. The northern part of these gardens has been rebuilt so we can see what they looked like. Over the years, in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the palace was changed a lot.

Many of the first black and white floor mosaics were covered. New, more colorful and detailed mosaics were added. One of these is the perfectly preserved dolphin mosaic in the north wing. It's still amazing to see today! More changes were happening when the palace sadly burned down around 270 AD. After the fire, the palace was left empty.

Who Lived in This Grand Palace?

Historians have a theory about who might have built Fishbourne Palace. They think it was built for a man named Sallustius Lucullus. He was a Roman governor of Britain in the late 1st century.

Two old stone carvings found near Chichester mention Lucullus. Also, the palace was built in the early 90s AD, which fits with when he was alive. If the palace was for Lucullus, he might not have lived there for very long. A Roman historian named Suetonius said that Emperor Domitian had Lucullus executed around 93 AD.

Images for kids

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  Reconstructed wall painting

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  Hypocaust in Fishbourne Roman Palace

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  The Museum

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  Re-planted garden using authentic plants

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  Stucco fragment from Fishbourne

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  Shell mosaic with dolphins

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  Walled City mosaic, room N7

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  Dolphin mosaic