Roman Painted House: A Roman Mansio in Dover
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.2
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Classical
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Classical
- Civilizations
- Roman
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- House
On this page9 sections
History
The Roman Painted House is a Roman mansio in Dover, United Kingdom, built around AD 200 at Dubris, the Roman port on the site of the modern town. A mansio was an official lodging establishment for government officials and travellers using the Roman administrative and military road system. The building formed part of Dover’s Roman military establishment and stood close to the harbour, baths, and fort.
Dubris and the Roman military establishment
Dubris grew into a military, commercial, and cross-Channel harbour because it stood beside the estuary of the Dour and near continental Europe. The settlement was initially fortified and garrisoned by the Classis Britannica, the Roman naval force responsible mainly for protecting the sea routes between Gaul and Britain and supporting the Roman army in Britain. The Roman Painted House therefore belonged to a port landscape shaped by military administration, travel, and maritime movement.
Around AD 270, the mansio was demolished during construction of the Saxon Shore fort. Saxon Shore forts were late Roman coastal fortifications associated with the defence and administration of the Channel and North Sea coasts. The lower parts of the hostel walls were incorporated into the fort’s rampart, preserving sections of the building and its painted decoration within the later defensive works.
Discovery and preservation
The remains were discovered in 1970 by the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit during construction of the A256 and York Street bypass. An eight-week excavation followed, and local archaeologists continued work at the site during the next decade. Further Roman remains came to light in the 1980s when a car park was planned. Excavation continued after discussions with the council and builders, while a purpose-built cover building was erected and the car park was relocated.
Much of the wider archaeological area was later reburied beneath the bypass, which was specially inclined to protect the remains and the adjacent White Cliffs Experience. The Roman Painted House is a scheduled monument. Conservation work in early 2024 included structural repairs, new electrical and lighting systems, stair repairs, a replacement handrail, a new floor, a fire escape, vision panels, mould removal, environmental monitoring, and other safety improvements.
Interpreting the building’s function
The building’s purpose remains partly debated. Its wall paintings associated with Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, and its location near the baths, harbour, and fort have prompted a proposed identification as a brothel. That interpretation rests on circumstantial evidence. Most academics consider the rooms too small for such a use and favour identifying the building as a mansio.
Remains
The Roman Painted House survives below ground beneath a purpose-built cover building. Its preserved rooms form part of a larger archaeological area in central Dover that includes remains of the mansio, the Saxon Shore fort, and the Classis Britannica fort. The associated area extends beneath the adjacent Roman Lawn, where a Roman bath house also survives.
Painted rooms
More than 400 square feet, or 37 square metres, of painted plaster survives from the house. The decoration has a lower red or green dado and an architectural arrangement of multicoloured panels framed by fluted columns. The columns rise from projecting bases above a stage, producing a pronounced three-dimensional effect. Parts of 28 panels remain, and each carries a motif associated with Bacchus and his connection with wine, festivity, abundance, and ecstatic religious practice.
Heating and surrounding Roman remains
Under-floor heating
The house contained an elaborate hypocaust, a Roman heating system in which hot air circulated beneath raised floors and sometimes through hollow wall spaces. A medieval opening cut through the floor, known as the Dover Gems, provides a view of this heating arrangement.
Fortifications and bath house
The house stands within a wider group of Roman remains associated with Dover’s port and military installations. Parts of the Saxon Shore fort and the earlier Classis Britannica fort are preserved in the archaeological area, while the Roman Lawn includes remains of the bath house that stood near the mansio. Other artefacts are also kept at the site, including an important glass vessel that has attracted academic study.
