R I C H BO ROUG H C A STLE

Y - ' - F ' F B HE O . S . A . B . . U S J ,

' R F A I M T FOR GLA IN S ECTO O NC ENT MONU EN S E N N D .

LONDON '

'RINTE D AND 'U B LI SHED B Y HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

THE SITE

HI STORY

. THE F ORT

THE C O NCRETE F OU NDATION S W ITHIN THE WALLS

OTHER B U ILDIN GS WITHIN THE WALLS

THE AREA OU TSIDE THE F ORT

AM 'HITHEATRE

THE CEM ETERY

THE M U SE UM

R IC HB OR OUGH CASTLE

— E H . l . T SITE

HE Roman fort of Rutupiae , now known as Richborough about mile and of I Castle , lies a a half north Sandwich and is situated on an undulating hill which rises to a height of to about 50 feet above the marsh . In order form an idea Of the appearance of the site in Roman times , it is necessary to trans m ' for in one s mind the whole of the surrounding marsh into sea , with the Isle of Thanet rising from it to the north and the , mainland stretching away to the west and south . Rutupiae would have been separated entirely from the main land at high tide by a narrow strip of sea and at low tide by a sandy creek across which the Romans must have constructed

a . either a bridge or causew y Where this was situated is uncertain , but it was probably at the narrowest point to the west of the

l . Island , a ittle to the south of the modern road The line of the a to Durovernum r Rom n road from here onwards , the mode n a ran Canterbury , c nnot now be traced , but that it across country in a practically straight line in accordance with the usual Roman two of practice may be assumed , and the first or three miles the Canterbury—Sandwi ch Road after leaving Canterbury may n have formed part of it . The site was also co nected with Dubris (Dover) in Roman times by a road which ran through n Wood esborough and Eastry . The harbour of Rutupiae would have been very accessible for of ri for the light draft ships the pe od , and good shelter them could

- have been found to the nort h or south west . The geographical pos ition of the site made it eminently suitable as a port for ship h ping plying between t is country and the Continent , and as such it was undoubtedly used during the whole period of the Roman occupation .

7008 W t 1 0084 500 1 000 arrow ( ) . / H 6 RICHBOROUGH CASTLE

2 — S O Y , HI T R .

e a Rutupiae is m ntioned many times by Rom n writers , and it would appear that the whole of this part of the coast was known Rutu ine one s i as the p Shore , as of the earlie t references , dat ng 9 — 8 1 1 7 A . D from the reign of Traj an . , mentions the oysters i ri from that local ty (the B tish oysters , Pliny states , were held in in high esteem at Rome) . Ptolemy his geography, compiled in r al o f th e a the fi st h f second century, states that Rutupi e , with an n of Cantii London and C terbury , were tow s the , a tribe which ' inh abited the district roughly corresponding to ent . In the to Antonine Itinerary , believed have been compiled in the second

D . . r A . Fo century , it is called a port or haven the fourth century i an there are some st ll more definite references . Ammi us Marcelli nus states that Julian despatched the general Lupicinus to Britain 359 in to repel the Picts and Scots , and that he embarked from e Boulogne with a fleet and landed at Rutupiae , which he describ d a an d al s a safe quiet station . The same writer so tells us that ' an of other general , Theodosius , the father of the Emperor that a 368 m name , entered the country by the s me route in , in the ti e of ' a ' on t o the Emperors alentini n and alens , when his way quell a rising of the northern tribes and at the same time to protect, the country against the inroads of the Saxons and Franks on th e south coast .

The above are the m oSt important references to the site by classical writers and from them and the objects discovered on the is an its site it possible to restore outline , at any rate , of history and the great events with which it was associated .

Rutu ine The p shore is mentioned as early as the first century , and that the town itself was occupied at that period is clearly a shown by the coins , pottery and other datable rticles that have been found . It is probable that it was inhabited before the Roman a 3 t AD . 4 as o inv sion under Claudius in , a few pieces of p t ery of

- pre Roman native technique have been recovered from the site . of There is at present , however , little evidence an extensive

- f r 1 00 A D . 70 . o occupation before the period , which there are an is m y remains , and it more than probable that Rutupiae was used as one of the main ports for the disembarking of troops and supplies in connection with the great military Operations that were carried out during that period in the west and north , when the tribes in Wales were subdued and the general Agricola made his expedition into Scotland . HISTORY 7

Durin g the second and part of the third centuries it probably as a served one of the chief commerci l ports of this country , the greater part of the trade with the Continent passing through it . an Carausius m a Maximian M y coins of , the Ad ir l of the Emperor , who with the aid of his fleet and the Legionaries in this country A 286 e i a D . set h mself up as Emperor in Brit in in , have be n found on the site and Show that it was used to a large extent during his time an d was probably the harbour for his fleet as well Allectus 293—296 AD as that of his successor , whose coins are also ea plentiful . In the rly part of its existence as a Roman port it unfortified as may well have been , the British tribes on the adj acent mainland had been entirely subdued soon after the a and was no a Roman inv sion , there fe r of an attack from the sea di al at that period . Later , however , the con tions tered , the sea a a a f ring Saxons from the e st became constant source of danger , and t o protect the country from their raids a chain of forts was titia a . N o constructed long the coast The , a document showing a ' the distribution of the troops ll over the Empire , the British section of which is believed to depict the organisation of the fourth c d entury , states that these forts were under the comman of the Count of the Saxon Shore and were placed at intervals along the coast from Brancaster on the north of Norfolk to Porchester near

Portsmouth . One of these was Rutupiae , which , together with that m an ai whose ruins are still to be seen at Reculver , com ded the str ts ai between the Isle of Thanet and the m nland . When these forts c ai were onstructed is uncert n , but they probably date from the a latter h lf of the third century . The passages already referred to show that towards the end of the fourth century Rutupiae was the port at which reinforce ments brought from the Continent for the army of Britain were la N otit'ia nded . The states that it was garrisoned by the Second

ai A D . Legion . This Legion came to Brit n in the first century . , and remained in the country until the close of the Roman occu t f pa iou . Its headquarters during the greater part o the time appear to have been at Caerleon in South Wales . The garrison was therefore stronger than that of the other forts under the two command of the Count of the Saxon Shore . These facts , a e t ken togeth r , indicate that at this period Rutupiae was the chief military port of Britain and the headquarters of the naval s defence of the province . so of This harbour , intimately connected with the early years the Roman occupation of Britain and their soj ourn here for over 350 a n one a b years , must lso have bee of the l st places occupied v 8 RICHBOROUGH CASTLE

them , and must have been largely used during their gradual evacuation of the country . Magnus Maximus , proclaimed Emperor in Britain in 383 and styled by the poet Ausonius the Rutu ine n 0 0 p Robber , took ma y of the best tr ps from this country to the Continent and with th eir help made himself eventually a w . as m ster of the Western Roman Empire He , however , at as N l t defeated in orthern Ital' by the Eastern Army , and few if any of his troops could ever have returned to this country In consequence the depleted garrisons on the North British frontier and the east coast were hard pressed in defending themselves a ag inst the Picts , Scots and Saxons , but at the very end Of the — fourth century the general Stilicho if the poet Claudian is to be

—' t to believed succeeded in res oring security the country . In one of this poet 's works Britain is made to speak as follows I was th e t perishing at hands of the neighbouring tribes , when S ilicho took up my defence the Scot was stirring up the whole of Ireland and the sea foamed with his hostile oars it is the work of Stilicho no that I longer fear the darts of the Scot , nor trouble at the Pict , a wh o nor look out long my line of shore for the Saxon , might i ' ai arrive with every Sh ft of the wind. Ag n in another of ' Claudian s poems Rome 1 s made to s a' ' Now that the Saxon is th ri e . tamed , B tain is secure , now that Pict has been crushed a The good times in Britain were , however , not destined to l st li was long . Sti cho obliged to withdraw a whole Legion for the ai ' e defence of Ital'ag nst the isigoths , and although that dang r was and overcome , there soon followed other more dangerous blows ai th at the heart of the Empire itself . Brit n was cut off from e rest of the Empire by the great barbarian invasion which devas tated 406 Gaul in , making it impossible to restore the depleted r garrison of the p ovince .

to i Left themselves , the remaining troops in Brita n set up o two as Emperors f their own , the first being murdered almost soon as elected , but the third , a Briton named Constantine , survived long enough to follow the example of his predecessor n x m n Mag us Ma i us , and , gatheri g together a large force , proceeded w t n . as no to the Continent It lo g before he was defeated , and what was left of his army never returned to Britain . This last withdrawal of troops was the final blow to the Roman domination o 41 0 of this c untry , and in the Emperor Honorius bade the Britons

was . . defend themselves , as he unable to give them assistance o th e This , however , was beyond their p wer and before the end of fifth century much of the east and south of the country was in

Saxon hands .

HISTORY 9

There is nothing to Show how long Rutupiae survived the wi a to final thdraw l of troops , but that it soon fell the invading o Saxon is certain , and Saxon bjects that can be dated to the fifth v ee century ha e been discovered on the site . That it may have b n as used as a port by them is probable , but it is never mentioned such after Roman times . A tradition that St . Augustine landed there in 597 rests on no good authority and is directly contradicted by the more trustworthy evidence of Bede , but a chapel dedicated i all n to him , of wh ch trace has now disappeared , is know to have al sea existed within the Roman w l s . The receding of the deprived a the site of all import nce , and a new port and town sprang up at i in Sandwich , wh ch became one of the Cinque Ports the thirteenth a i century . This , ga n , shared much the same fate as Rutupiae , and i t was not until the war of 1 91 4 - 1 8 that the Rutupine shore l once more became a scene of mi itary and naval activity , when the great port Of Richborough was formed almost under the i l ru ned wa ls of the Roman Rutupiae .

- THE 3 . O F RT . — The Walls The massive walls of the Roman fort are at the a present day the only visible rem ins of Rutupiae . They were

A D . probably constructed in the third century . , and have much al as in common with sever other Roman forts , such those at

Pevensey and Porchester , which appear to have been built at o n ab ut the same period . The fort was recta gular , measuring from the outer face of the walls 494 feet north and south and 550 580 e probably to fe t east and west , the area enclosed being a ix ffi s . little over acres It is , however, now di cult to define with ai l cert nty the exact position of the east wa l . Fragmentary remains of its foundations have been discovered at the bottom of the steep bank on this side , but they were so irregular and at places sloped at such a steep angle that it is not easy t o believe m that they were in their original position . The ost probable solution would seem to be that the east wall originally stood on i of the top of the slope , and that after the reced ng the sea the all River Stour gradu y undermined this proj ecting headland , ' u di i ca sing a large portion of it to subside bo ly , bring ng with . it the east wall and part of the south wall . At the same time the east end of the north wall slid Slightly outwards and toppled over . a latter of F llen masses of the , and also part the east wall , may still a be seen . The east w ll was probably of similar construction t o e two u the w st , with a gateway , rectang lar towers , and round towers at the angles . 1 0 RICHBOROUGH CASTLE

Long stretches of the walls on the south—west and north are standing in a wonderful st ate of preservation , rising in some places

as 25 feet . th eir n 1 1 to as much , width bei g on an average feet . The foundations are composed of layers of boulders and chalk a a which were placed in trench dug into the natur l soil . Upon these foundations the walls were built up in a succession of hori'ontal layers of flint boulders with a considerable number of rough blocks of chal k and stone and occasional fragments of the marble casing from the structure that stood on the large concrete foundation in the interior of the fort . The whole was cemented a sea together with extremely hard mortar cont ining pebbles ,

. o ri al shells , etc , and a large prop rtion of broken b ck . The extern surface of the wall was faced with regular courses of ashl ar with hori'ontal bonding courses of double or single rows of bricks at f u intervals o from two to fo r feet . These did not as a rule extend f a of into the core o the wall more th n two bricks deep . The face the north wall is the best preserved and it is obvious that an orna mental effect had been attempted by the use of alternate stones f ' al of di ferent colours in hori ont rows . The interior face of the a al a t o w lls has now practic l y disappe red , but it seems have been of flint with bonding courses of brick and not of dressed stone blocks like the exterior . At one place , however , on the north l s wa l , five courses of dres ed tufa remain . — Towers Rectangular towers projected some ten feet from the f l o . face the wa l The lower parts Of four of these still exist , two on the west wall an d one each on the south and north wal ls . The position of a fifth can be seen near the east end of th e north wall and there was probably another on the south in a corres ai ponding position . These turrets were bonded into the m n wall and contained two chambers divided by a massive concrete floor m reinforced by wooden beams . Their construction is si ilar to that of the main wall above which they probably rose t o a con id rabl N f r s e e . W . W . o height At the S . and angles the fo t and

i l - 1 8 proj ect ng from it were circu ar towers , the north west being

- feet in diameter and the south west 1 8 feet 6 inches . Onl y the lower courses of these remain and it is impossible to sa' whether they were of solid construction or contained chambers . — Entrances The main entrance to the fort was situated 50 f a feet to the north of the centre O the west walls . The greater p rt to of it has been demolished , probably obtain the large dressed blocks of stone Of which it was constructed . Excavations here a a a indic ted , however , that it consisted of a single entrance p ss ge

THE FORT 1 1

a 25 . 6 in . 1 0 . some ft wide , fl nked on either side by towers , ft

6 . 2 . 1 . 6 long by ft in wide , which projected ft beyond the outer

an 7 6 . face of the main wall d from the inner face about ft . in There would have been guard chambers in the towers and probably other rooms above while the wall walk would have been continued ai of over the entrance . The rem ns of the southern these gate towers have been left uncovered . At about the middle of what remains of the north wall is situated a projecting bastion or tower which protecte d a small entrance in its eastern side . This entrance could have been little

3 6 . more than ft . in in width , and would , therefore , have been

w . as 7 . 8 easy to defend . The entrance passage in the tower ft in and a a wide in the end of the main w ll on the e st side of this , at a 1 5 height of about feet , are three square holes which appear to have held beams to support the floor of a chamber above . A writer of about the middle of the last century describes the floor of the entrance passage as being formed of solid stone - work down th e middle of which ran a covered drain from the interior and the ai d course Of this can still be traced . The rem ns of a head carve l t in stone can be seen e into the north wall of this bastion . In the a ar i south w ll of the fort , at a point ne ly opposite th s gate and of a where the remains the fort w ll end abruptly , indications of a i ai al project ng turret , which presumably cont ned another sm l

n i . entrance , have bee d scovered all a In probability , there was a gateway in the missing e st

wall opposite and very similar to the one in the west wall .

I 4 —THE C OU W . O O S N E S C N RETE F NDATI N ITHI TH WALL .

Within the area of the fort and slightly to the north - east of the centre is a rectangular block of concrete composed of layers of flint imbedded in mortar and sunk in the natural sand to a depth 2 30 . 1 6 of over feet The main body measures ft . from north to 1 8 . o 5 . s uth and ft from east to west , but the upper ft project

1 0 . 2 i 8 n . ft on the north and south and 1 ft . on the east and 1 4 . 4 . 6 1 06 . west , making the dimensions at ground level ft by ft in The upper surface of this huge mass is level and is covered with a six inch layer of mortar upon which is a layer Of sand or r g avel . In this , but separated from it by a layer of chalk blocks of ' u r and another entish rag , is a cr cifo m concrete construction , i f . a 8 ft . n 86 t the north and south arm me suring 6 . wide by 1 2 RICHBOROUGH CASTLE

and 22 4 7 . long the east and west arm ft . by ft It stands now 4 ft about ; . high but was probably higher . Its sides and ends W are ragged , but ithin living memory , the ends and inner angles were faced with tufa blocks . Surrounding this cruciform con 1 6 struction and standing on the concrete platform at ft . from its l 2 3 . outer edge is a ft . in wa l with an offset on the inner face of

6 . i 1 0 1 . about in. It stands ft in h gh in places and is composed of boulders embedded in mortar but of inferior quality to that of o r th e h the concrete foundation cruciform structure . W ere this wal l stands highest the remains of a bonding course of tiles may d be seen . Like the cross it oes not stand immediately on the N concrete platform but on an intervening layer of sand . ear and as a rule on the outer side of this wal l have been discovered many architectural fragments of white marble slabs and mould ings which must have formed the casing of some structure of very l considerable artistic merit . They consist of moulded she ls for u for col mns and pilasters , Slabs wall facings , steps and pavements , f cornice mouldings and fragments o ornamental detail . In one place between the remains of the wal l and the outer edge of the concrete block a piece o f m arble pavement was found actually in position . Many theories h ave been propounded to explain the purpose of this extraordinary structure but no real ly satisfactory solution h has yet been devised . The huge concrete m ass has been t ought to contain chambers for the storage of treasure and more than one attempt h as been made to penetrate into the interior but no sign of a room of any description has been met with . It has also been suggested that a pharos or lighthouse stood upon the platform or that it carried machinery for the hauling up of Ships within the or o f fort served as the base for some huge catapult or engine war ,

or . 1 3 or as the foundation for a temple monument It , however , o s a with our present knowledge , imp ssible to ' what was the pur pose of this erection or if the cruciform structure and its surround ing walls are contemporary , or even if the huge concrete foundation All was originally built for the purpose of carrying them . that can be said is that the enormous concrete foundation was built to carry some structure of tremendous weight but there is no evidence to Show whether this was ever placed upon it . The concrete cross may have been part of the original design or it may be later and there is now no indication for what purpose it was used . The numerous marble fragments and portions of bron 'e statues found ai in the vicinity , cert nly indicate that the superstructure was of a f r In an unusu lly ornate description o Roman work this country ,

OTHER BUILD INGS WITHIN THE WALLS 1 3 and it is greatly to be regretted that the small por tions of in scription discovered are too fragmentary t o afford any clue to ai its date or purpose . It seems cert n , however, that the marble e o f faced building was in ruins b fore the construction the fort , as . several fragments of the moulded marble are built into the core of the main wall of the fort .

— B U LD GS N LLS . 5 . OTHER I IN WITHI THE WA

u di w a Of other b il ngs ithin the fort practic lly nothing is known , and up to the present little or no effort has been made to explore of them. That some at any rate the rooms of the houses were decorated wi th painted wall plaster and were warm ed by hypo causts or hot - air systems is shown by the numerous fragments of coloured plaster and fine tiles that have been met with at vari ous times , and there is ample evidence that the roofs were composed of red brick tiles . In dry seasons it is possible to trace on the turf the lines o f one th e of of is walls at more than place , and position some these indicated upon the plan .

—THE U 6 S O . . AREA O T IDE THE F RT

How w w much ground was occupied by the to n is not kno n , and l l and can on y be ascertained by carefu systematic exploration . al Sever small excavations have been undertaken at various times , but these have mostly been confined to the fort and its immediate

. an e d neighbourhood M y relics have , however , b en discovere s n a an d - cattered over the isla d , but mostly on the e st south east ul to Sides , which part wo d appear have been the most densely h t o s in abited area , while the we t of the fort some evidence has been found that the town was laid out insquares in accordance th e with the usual Roman practice . To north of the fort the re mains oi buildings and a considerable layer of burnt wheat were a i discovered , and as the gran ries conta ning the supplies for the W garrison would hardly have been ithout the walls , it seems probable that there were storehouses on this part of the site W a here the gr in was kept pending its shipment to the Continent , there being evidence that at any rate in the fourth century this u co ntry exported corn to Gaul . When the railway was being made at the foot of the hill to the south of the fort the foundations 1 4 RICHBOROUGH CASTLE of no i a Roman building were cut through , but information s recorded concerning it beyond the fact that the walls were com of of and posed flint and tiles with a foundation chalk , that the rooms were floored with a thick layer of concrete .

7 —THE M ' A HITHEATRE .

On the high ground south of the fort is a very pronounced a f depression roughly ov l in shape . This marks the site o an was 1 849 Amphitheatre , which explored in , and proved to measure 2 1 f 66 . 00 . o 3 6 ft by ft It consisted an encircling wall ft . in . wide , fli al W built with nt faced with ch k , hile the angles at the entrances al i were strengthened at interv s with bonding courses of t les . The and inner face of the wall was coated with coarse mortar , from it an inclined plane consisting of mortar and clay sloped inwards f r t al o 8 . o 7 . some ft This stood a height of ft against the w l , 2 and rested on a pavement of mortar in . thick , which extended d t e 1 N o towar s the centre of h area for some 5 ft . remains or indications of seats were discovered , but these may well have h u all now d . been of wood , of w ich trace wo ld have isappeared h W and . There were entrances on the north , sout est The north em was a was the best preserved , and flanked extern lly by walls at right angles t o the main walls and proj ecting some 6 ft . a al l from it . The entrance p ssage , which origin ly had been vau ted , an i h was 9 ft . wide d had a hard pavement of fl nt and rubble w ich ai a sloped down towards the interior . The east m n w ll proj ected 3 i v f r 6 . o ft . nto the passage , lea ing a space Of ft the gate , the position of which was indicated by two gate stops near the I nner tw angle Of the wall on the west Side . The other o entrances were so a not well preserved , but they appear to h ve been constructed a of on the same plan . On the ruined w ll the west entrance a Skeleton was found lying on its left Side with th e legs drawn up and the wrists crossing each other , and with it was found a coin

2- Am h eatre a A . D . 33 350 of Const ns , , indicating that the t had probably fallen into decay and ceased to be used about the f middle o the fourth century .

- THE M Y . 8 . CE ETER

Urns containing burnt human bones have been discovered in a Sand - pit on the left - hand side of the road leading from the to la and fort the vil ge , it is probable that the cemetery was a situ ted on this part of the site . THE MUSEUM 1 5

S B C S O O THE M U EU M AND O JE T F UND N THE SITE .

Of a Many finds sm ll obj ects have been made at Rutupiae , and i there is a representative collect on in the museum on the site . Th e s— collection includes brooches , various ornament some — and s enamelled portions of statuettes , pins decorated fragment t l oOs . of j et and bone , iron weapons , , etc , and a very large amount all of pottery of descriptions , much of it imported ware from the u and ' o . C ntinent Many h ndreds of coins in gold , silver bron e

a i . have lso been d scovered They date from the last century B C . D th e f A . . as to fi th century , but mostly belong to the l t century of

. as the Roman occupation Relics of the Saxon period such coins , brooches and other small obj ects have been found on and near the site . The finding of an inscribed silver ingot near the large concrete t founda ions within the walls , and the fact that some coins of the i arau us . R S . R Emperor C s bear the mint marks R and . . and can not wi ai th cert nty be assigned to any known mint , suggest the s al po sibility that these coins were actu l y struck at Rutupiae . do ' and Some authorities not , however, accept this iew , believe Carau ius to the s coins have been struck at the London mint .