Fishbourne Roman Palace

built around formal gardens, the northern half of which have been reconstructed. There were extensive alterations in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, with many of the original black and white mosaic floors being overlaid with more sophisticated coloured ones , including a perfectly preserved mosaic of a dolphin in the north wing. More alterations were in progress when the palace burnt down in around 270AD,after which it was abandoned. B Local people had long believed that a Roman palace once existed in the area .However, it was not until 1960 that the archaeologist Barry Cunliffe, of Oxford University, first systematically excavated the site, after workmen had accidentally uncovered a wall while they were laying a water main .The Roman villa excavated by Cunliffe's team was so grand that it became known as Fishbourne Roman Palace ,and a museum was erected to preserve some of the remains .This is administered by the Sussex Archaeological Society. C In its day, the completed palace would have comprised four large wings with colonnaded fronts. The north and east wings consisted of suites of private rooms built around courtyards, with a monumental entrance in the middle of the east wing. In the north-east corner there was an…