Archaeology around Fishbourne

Beyond the Roman Palace: the wider archaeological landscape

The Roman Palace is the headline archaeological site, but Fishbourne and the surrounding area are rich in evidence of human activity stretching back thousands of years. The coastal plain between the South Downs and the sea has been settled since at least the Mesolithic period, and the layers of occupation have left a complex archaeological record.

The fields around Fishbourne have produced Iron Age pottery, flintwork, and evidence of pre-Roman farming. The harbour itself would have been a resource from the earliest periods of human settlement, providing fish, shellfish, and wildfowl. The discovery of a Roman military supply base beneath the later palace demonstrates that Fishbourne was strategically important even before the grand residence was built.

The wider Chichester area is exceptionally rich in archaeological sites. Chichester itself was the Roman city of Noviomagus Reginorum, the tribal capital of the Regni. The amphitheatre site, town walls, and under-street remains have been investigated over many years. The Novium Museum in Chichester houses finds from the city and the surrounding district.

To the north, the South Downs contain Neolithic flint mines at Cissbury Ring and Church Hill, Bronze Age barrows, and Iron Age hillforts including the Trundle above Goodwood. The landscape has been shaped by human activity for at least five thousand years.

Archaeological work continues in the Fishbourne area, with developer-funded excavations required whenever significant building work takes place on land with archaeological potential. The Sussex Archaeological Society, which manages the Roman Palace, coordinates much of the professional archaeological work in the county.