Fishbourne Roman Palace Museums

the largest Roman building on public display north of the Alps. It is very early in the Roman occupation of Britain and is often associated with Togidubnus the local king who was an ally of Rome. Fishbourne was discovered in the early 1960's and excavated in considerable detail under Professor Barry Cunliffe.

The layout of the Palace around the formal garden (which is partly reconstructed at the site now) is very Mediterranean. The building contained an audience chamber, for whichever important person did live here, together with a series of suites of rooms plus such essentials as a Roman bathhouse. An attractive plant display area contains a range of plants known to have been cultivated by the Romans. Adjacent to it is a Roman Garden Museum which includes a reconstructed Roman potting shed with a selection of horticultural tools.