The city of Chichester has a long and illustrious history, with the modern- day layout providing glimpses of a story that dates back to the Roman occupation of Britain. The grid pattern that can be seen today, with the main (now mostly pedestrianised) thoroughfares of North, South, East, and West Street forming a cross, results from the fact that the medieval city was fitted into the existing Roman city walls, with streets entering through the Roman gates.
The early Roman town was defined by a pomerium: a semi-religious boundary formed by perhaps no more than a small bank and ditch. This slight, non-defensive feature was then replaced by impressive, imperially sanctioned stone city walls in the late 3rd century AD, strengthened in the turbulent 4th century with bastions – semi-circular towers on which a ballista, a form of a giant crossbow, could be mounted. Just outside the early town was an amphitheatre, constructed of earthworks with timber seating for perhaps several thousand people. The equivalent of a cross between a modern sports stadium and a church, it was used for military displays, gladiatorial contests, and other public events.
Of course, the palimpsests of the past are visible in many contemporary towns and cities across the country, but what makes Chichester perhaps a little unusual is the extent and current visibility of these traces, from the public bathhouse on display in The Novium Museum to the significant stretches of the city’s Roman walls that still stand in situ. With such tantalising remnants of the city’s past, it should be no surprise that there have been many efforts over the years to uncover further evidence of Chichester’s rich heritage. From antiquarian ‘prospecting’ to more recent community archaeology projects, the urban landscape there has proven fertile hunting ground.
