Roman gateway rebuilt in ‘exact spot’ at site of invasion of Britain
An 8-metre-high rampart and gateway built almost 2,000 years ago at the spot where Roman forces invaded Britain has been reconstructed for 21st-century visitors.
The original structure was built to allow soldiers a clear view of any threat to the military base they created at Richborough in Kent, the main entry point to Britain from mainland Europe and often referred to as the “gateway to Britannia”.
Built by English Heritage, the charity that looks after more than 400 historic buildings, monuments and sites, the reconstructed gateway opens on Wednesday alongside a display of items found at the site.
They include a 2,000-year-old cup made from blown glass from the Middle East, and women’s hairpins, introduced as a fashion item by the Romans.
A Roman army of about 40,000 soldiers landed in Britain in AD43 and established control of the south-east of the country.
Richborough was a site on a small island in the Wantsum Channel, a stretch of water that separated Kent from Thanet. The Roman troops built fortifications at Richborough to protect Roman ships in the Channel. They built the first Roman road running from Richborough to north Wales.
Over time, Richborough – known as Rutupiae to the Romans – grew from a military base into a thriving port town where goods from across the empire entered the new Roman province of Britannia. Objects found at the site include hundreds of brooches and thousands of coins.
An amphitheatre seating up to 5,000 people was the venue for gladiatorial contests and occasional executions.
The gateway has been reconstructed in oak, using Roman dovetail, lap and scarf joints. A tower above it was where soldiers and supplies were assembled.
The reconstruction was a historic moment, said Paul Pattison, English Heritage’s senior properties historian. “To be able to rebuild a structure as accurately as possible, and one that stands on the exact spot of the original at Richborough almost 2,000 years ago, is remarkable.
“The Roman invasion was a major milestone in our history. We know that Richborough witnessed over 360 years of Roman rule – from the very beginning to the bitter end – but standing atop this 8-metre-high gateway, looking out and imagining what the first Romans might have seen, is quite an experience.”
Among the treasures on display for the first time are a trader’s weight in the shape of Harpocrates, the god of silence – the only one of its kind in Britain – and statuettes of Roman deities that would have been presented as gifts in shrines.