Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The 'Painted House' is the remains of a Roman town house, constructed c. AD 200 and noted for its wall paintings. Its position just outside the Classis Britannica fort suggests that it served as the private dwelling of a leading naval or government official or as a mansio for important travellers. It was discovered during rescue excavations by the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit in the 1970s. These excavations revealed a complex of at least six rooms and a passage. It was built on an earlier Roman building, probably mid-2nd century, of at least three rooms. This was largely demolished during the construction of the 'Painted House'. Further structures were also noted during the excavation of this structure, most of which are earlier in date and possibly relate to the extra mural settlement just outside of the CLBR II Fort. Of the six rooms the most complete was room 2 with internal walls surviving to 6 feet in height. These had been decorated with a green dado with a central zone of eighteen rectangular panels above. Similar, but more fragmentary, examples were found in the other rooms. The passage, which flanked rooms 1, 2 and 3, also had traces of a geometric pattern on one wall. Beneath the opus signinum floors a hypocaust was found intact. It appears to have heated all but rooms 4 and 6, while room 1 remained in use during the construction of the major military fort in AD. 270 rooms 2 and 3 were buried beneath the rampart and 4, 5 and 6 destroyed by the wall and ditch. It is possible that the building formed part of the east-west range of a much larger structure. Another building, located to the east of the ‘Painted House’ appears to be contemporary with it, and it is likely that this eastern building formed part of an integral eastern section of a larger building which included the painted house. (location accurate to the nearest 2m based on available information)

Monument Types

• HOUSE (MANSIO, Roman - 200 AD? to 270 AD?)
• WALL PAINTING (WALL PAINTING, Roman - 200 AD? to 270 AD?)

Associated Finds

• LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)

Full description

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The Painted House is the remains of a Roman town house, constructed AD 200 and noted for its wall paintings. Its position just outside the Classis Britannica fort suggests that it served as the private dwelling of a leading naval or government official or as a mansio for important travellers. It was discovered during rescue excavations by B.J. Philp of the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit in 1970. This, and subsequent excavations, 1970-76, revealed a complex of at least six rooms and a passage.

It had built on an earlier Roman building, probably mid 2nd century, of at least three rooms. This was largely demolished during the construction of the 'Painted House'. Of the six rooms the most complete was room 2 with internal walls surviving to 6 feet in height. These had been decorated with a green dado with a central zone of eighteen rectangular panels above. Similar, but more fragmentary, examples were found in the other rooms. The passage, which flanked rooms 2 and 3, had traces of a geometric pattern on one wall. Beneath the opus signinum floors a hypocaust was found intact. It appears to have heated all but rooms 4 and 6.

While room 1 remained in use during the construction of the major military fort in AD. 270 rooms 2 and 3 were buried beneath the rampart and 4,5 and 6 destroyed by the wall and ditch. It is possible that the building formed part of the east-west range of a much larger structure. (1-3)

The hypocaust system within the 'painted house' consists of a combination of channelled and pillared types. By combining these two types, a 'composite' system where the main flues are channelled and open into a small pillared area in the centre of the room, is achieved. Each room was fed from an external furnace through a furnace arch. The hot air from the fire passed through this furnace arch, along the main flue channel to the central pillared chamber and then circulated through the other flue channels to the side and corners of the room. Each of these channels terminates in a vertical wall flue composed of box flue tiles built into the fabric of the wall. (4)

In 1975 a grubenhauser was revealed above the floor of room 1 . Measuring about 25' in length it is one of the largest found in Britain. About 200 loomweights, pottery and an 8th century bronze work box were recovered. The excavations also revealed that several medieval cess-pits had cut into the building and that the soil beneath contained large quantities of worked flints. These relate to a late Neolithic settlement on the Western Heights. The painted House was first opened to the public for a limited period in 1975 when sufficient funds were raised to launch a preservation scheme. Safely housed inside a protective building the site was opened permanently in 1977. (1-5)

From the Register of Scheduled Monuments:

The painted house found by excavation and to be displayed. Substantial remains of Roman House including floors and hypercaust and extensive wall paintings. Consolidated and displayed under cover as a museum. (6)

List entry Description
Summary of Monument
Roman mansio (including part of a Saxon Shore Fort), known as the Roman Painted House, 95m south-west of St Mary’s Church.

Mansiones were substantial, mostly masonry, buildings of varying size and plan providing facilities, including accommodation and stabling, for travellers associated with the Cursus Publicus (the provincial postal service of Roman Britain). Constructed on or adjacent to major contemporary roads, they are usually found in urban contexts or within forts, although some examples lie between towns on roads which cross the more sparsely settled rural areas. They are found throughout England. Dating from the second to mid-fourth centuries AD, mansiones were often amongst the largest buildings of the town. The largest recorded urban example is at Silchester, where the mansio covers an area of c.0.4ha. Most examples survive in the form of buried foundations. Few examples have been positively identified and, in view of this rarity, all mansiones with surviving remains are considered to be of national importance.

Despite later damage, the Roman mansio and part of a Saxon Shore Fort in Dover survive well. The mansio wall paintings remain in-situ and are among the best preserved examples of their type north of the Alps. The later construction of the defences of the Saxon Shore Fort across the site have in-fact aided the preservation of the archaeological remains of the mansio since the east side of the building was at that time covered by an earthen rampart. Together they enhance our understanding of the urban settlement at Portus Dubris and provide valuable information regarding the history and development of the Roman town.

The mansio includes at least six rooms and a corridor or passage to the north. It overlies an earlier Roman building, probably of the mid second century, of at least three rooms. The mansio has rectangular rooms with stone walls generally surviving between 1.2m and 1.8m high. These are decorated internally with painted wall plaster. They include an architectural scheme set above a lower dado, of red or green, with coloured panels framed by fluted columns. The panels each have a motif relating to Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. In the corridor is a geometric pattern. The floors are of opus signinum and several of the rooms have a hypocaust.

The mansio is situated a short distance north of the Roman fort of the Classis Britannica and is thought to have been built in about AD 200 as accommodation for travellers crossing the English Channel. The surviving rooms may have been part of a much larger building. (7)

Discussion of the mansio in relation to the Dover Western Docks revival scheme (8)

<1> Brian and Edna Philp, 1974, CIB: Rescue Excavations in Kent 1972-1974: The Town Centre Excavation in Dover (Article in serial). SKE31869.

<2> B Philp, M Wheeler, Prof. Toynbee, 1972, Kent Archaeological Review: Roman Dover. Vol. 29, Kent Arch Rev 29 1972 259 260 (Sir M Wheeler) 261 262 (B Philp) 262-264 (J Toynbee) (Article in serial). SKE31847.

<3> Philp, B, 1989, The Roman House with Bacchic Murals at Dover (Monograph). SKE24004.

<4> John Willson, 1977, Kent Archaeological Review: 'The Painted House' Underfloor Heating System. Vol. 47 (Article in serial). SKE31857.

<5> Brian Philp, 1983, Kent Archaeological Review: Major Roman Building Discovered at Dover Vol. 74, Kent Arch Review 74 1983 77 (Article in serial). SKE31866.

<6> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<7> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

<8> Maritime Archaeology, 2008, Dover Terminal 2 EIA: Historic Environment Baseline Report Volume 1 (Unpublished document). SKE31717.

Sources and further reading

Related records

Related thematic articles

• Roman Kent (Thematic Essay)