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Monument details
| HER Number: | TR 36 SW 415 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Site of a Domitian Arch at Richborough Roman Fort. |
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Summary
The site of a 'Quadrifons' arch built by Domitian c.AD 85 to celebrate the completion of the conquest of Britain by the Emperor Agricola.
| Grid Reference: | TR 3245 6018 |
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| Map Sheet: | TR36SW |
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| Parish: | ASH, DOVER, KENT |
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Monument Types
- (Former Type) TRIUMPHAL ARCH (Undated)
| Protected Status: | Scheduled Monument 1014642: A SAXON SHORE FORT, ROMAN PORT AND ASSOCIATED REMAINS AT RICHBOROUGH |
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Full description
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The remains of the platform upon which stood a 'Quadrifons' arch built by Domitian c.AD 85 to celebrate the completion of the conquest of Britain by the emperor Agricola. Clad in Italian Carrara marble it stood at an estimated height of 25m. overlooking the seaward approach to the port of Richborough. The arch spanned the eastern end of Watling Street, the principle road from Richborough to London and the north. Passing through Canterbury the road acted as a symbolic gateway to the Roman province of Brittania. (1)
The arch was fortified in the early third century, possibly as a lookout tower, and defensive ditches were dug around it. The ditches survive within the wider landscape of Richborough fort however it is likely that it was levelled to make way for a later Saxon Shore Fort built by the end of the third century. (1)
From the National Heritage List for England:
Around AD 85-AD 90, many timber buildings were cleared to make way for the construction of a large, north east-south west aligned rectangular monument designed to celebrate the conquest of Britain and marking what was to become the main port of entry into the province. This lies within the eastern sector of the later Saxon Shore fort. The superstructure has not survived, but the excavations revealed that the great monument was built on cross-shaped rubble footings above a rectangular foundation of mortared flint pebbles, set in a pit measuring 38m by 34.5m and 10m deep. Fragments of the superstructure found during the excavations suggest that it took the form of a quadrifrons, or four-way arch above a cross-passageway, set on a raised plinth. The arch was constructed of ashlar masonry faced with white Carrara marble, decorated with gilded bronze statuary and inscriptions. It measured c.26.5m by c.14.5m and has been estimated to have stood to a height of around 25m. The footings and foundations were left uncovered after the excavation and are still visible.
Dover District Council, 2013, Dover District Heritage Strategy (Bibliographic reference). SKE31372.
Sources and further reading
| Cross-ref.
| Source description | | --- | Bibliographic reference: Dover District Council. 2013. Dover District Heritage Strategy. |
