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Archaeology and Palaces
During the time of the Roman republic
the Palatine Hill was the preferred
quarter for the ruling elite and this
tradition continued when the Roman
emperors built their palaces on the hill.
Eventually, imperial palaces covered
the entire hill. And the ruins of the
palaces of Augustus (63 – 14BCE),
Tiberius (42 – 37BCE) and Domitian
(51 – 96) can still be seen.
Photo: Ancient Art & Architecture
Collection Ltd
This was because the excavations revealed a huge building, covering an area the size of Buckingham Palace – far grander than anything previously expected in a country that had been thought of as something of a backwater in the Roman world. More than 20 high-quality floor mosaics, some of them almost perfectly preserved, and other finds indicated the presence of a person of great power and influence – now believed, after intensive research, to have been King Cogidubnus of the Regni tribe, a key Roman ally in the invasion of Britain.
Other archaeological digs of palace sites in Britain have also captured the public imagination. One was the excavation in 1960-1961 of Henry VIII's 'lost palace' of Nonsuch in Surrey. The palace, demolished in the 18th century, leaving no traces visible above ground, had taken on an almost mythical status until local historian John Dent and archaeologist Martin Biddle worked out its likely location. Biddle's excavations, starting in the summer of 1959, attracted large crowds of visitors and has been described as 'a key event in the history of public archaeology in this country'.
Other archaeological investigations have involved palace sites from all periods. Time Team itself has carried out a number of palace digs, and has gone in search of possible Anglo-Saxon palaces on several occasions – unsuccessfully in each case. Its digs at known palace sites, such as Greenwich, Richmond and Kew, have been more effective, although even on these sites finds have been limited because most such sites have been extensively redeveloped and disturbed over the years.
In Britain, too, there have been amazing discoveries resulting from palace archaeology, not the least of which was that of Fishbourne Roman Palace, in Sussex. The discovery of the palace at Fishbourne, which came about by accident in 1960 when a new water main was being laid, literally rewrote the history of Roman Britain.
