Ruins, Rotas and Romances

 

Easter of 1961 was, in all probability, at least to most of us, no different from any other past Easter. But to a small gathering of students and archaeologists assembled in a farmer’s field in Fishbourne, it would turn out to be an Easter that would be rooted in their memories for the rest of their lives.

In my mind’s eye I can see them now, a group of young and vibrant people with some of the young men already sporting long hair and newly grown beards. A few of the students will be in possession, in their back pockets, of shiny, virgin trowels.  While others will be discretely cleaning theirs of the remnants of the last time they were used.

What was the weather like that morning of the first day? Well, if it was dry and bright or dull and cloudy, or even a little damp, it would have had little effect on the atmosphere.  The atmosphere of expectancy must have been highly charged, no doubt fuelled by Barry Cunliffe and Margaret Rule, the archaeologists in charge of the excavations, telling them about the archaeology which was seen, identified and rescued from the trench carved out by the local Water Board in April of the previous year.  Then it would have begun, the opening chapter of the remarkable story of the discovery of Fishbourne Roman Palace.

The excavations lasted from 1961 – 1968, with a short excavation  to the south of the site in 1969 ending on the 28^th of March that year.  A model of how the Palace may have looked in the late first century AD was commissioned, and Thorpes, the model builders in Norwich, took up the challenge. The model is still on display in the foyer of the Palace entrance. The site was officially opened to the public on Tuesday 28^th May 1968 by the Bishop of Chichester.

The excavations over those years attracted a vast group of people.  Students of archaeology, older experienced excavators and many volunteers. Some would attend short-term, or whenever possible - others regularly, even over the whole seven seasons of excavations.  Who were these people? Where were they from? What were their daily thoughts and emotions? – as mosaic after mosaic loomed up before their eyes. When the excavations were concluded, where did their lives take them and what were their memories of their time spent in helping to resurrect the Roman Palace?  

Suddenly, an opportunity arose to find answers  to all those questions.  For early in 2010 a reorganisation and refurbishment of the main offices at Fishbourne unearthed archives, some relating to the original excavations.  The then director, Christine Medlock, asked  the North Wing staff if they would be willing to look through the archive material to see whether there was enough interesting material on which to base an exhibition to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the discovery of the Palace’s remains.  

All the archive material was relocated to the Research Room in the Collections and Discovery Centre and Sheila Marsden, a Senior Museum Assistant, kindly invited me to join the North Wing staff  – Anne-Marie Williams, Sylvia Arnold, Tess Fradgeley, Julie Harrington and Jan Christie,  to help view the reams of photographs, articles, letters and correspondence to filter out any relating to the 1960s excavations.

It was agreed that we would all meet in the Research Room on Wednesdays to take an initial look at what had been discovered. Well, when I walked in to that room on the first Wednesday, there piled against the far wall was a collection of boxes, folders and photo albums.  I felt like a small boy who had suddenly been left alone in a sweet shop.  I resisted the surging temptation to touch and waited for the rest of the team to arrive.

Soon we were all together, all sat at the long table and apprehensively eying the volume of material that was before us. The atmosphere of apprehension was disturbed by a voice saying, ‘Let’s get on with a couple of hours of research then we can enjoy sandwiches and tea.’  We all took a small pile of the archive, thus our journey back in time began. 

At this point we had no idea what the exhibition would be about or what it would be called. But within that room there were seven minds combined together with a passion of resolve, each one full of determination that from within the reams of archive, we would conceive and give birth to an exhibition worthy of a public display and one, as individuals, we could be proud of.

The archive revealed itself to be an Aladdin’s Cave of newspaper articles, photographs, correspondence and local residents’ reactions and opinions, all related to the discovery and excavation of the Roman remains. As we continued to view the archive, what began to capture the teams interest and kindle our imaginations, was the discovery of such items as bills from local tradesmen regarding food and other essentials vital to the day-to-day running of the site. There was also correspondence regarding the organisation of accommodation for the volunteers, and all seemed to be the responsibility of Mrs Margaret Rule.

As the flood of information from the archive started to recede, our ideas began to find firmer ground on what the exhibition would be about. The decision was made, it would be focused on the life and experiences of the excavators who dug at Fishbourne between 1961 -69. The exhibition would conclude with information regarding the archaeological and academic achievements of some of the excavators after the conclusion of their time at Fishbourne.

After a long and fun-filled debate, it was agreed that the exhibition would carry the title of ‘Ruins, Rotas and Romances’.  Then the question arose of how we would present it and was there enough material to produce eighteen boards? The boards (pictured below) would start in the museum and then continue down the North Wing wall, concluding with a display in the Lower Concourse – near where the discovery trench was ploughed in 1960.

Next to the discovery trench a dummy of an excavator, complete with wheelbarrow and excavating tools, was placed, a visual aid to promote the theme of the exhibition.  A local radio station kindly gave us a regular five minute spot to promote the 50 years on anniversary and the Director and a team member engaged their thoughts with the listening public. The local papers and the magazine ‘Current Archaeology’ kindly found space in their publications to give the exhibition a mention. 

The eighteen boards were created by each team member being responsible for identifying the archive material relating to the title of the boards they were working on. Each board would carry, on the top left hand corner, a logo of a wheelbarrow and on some boards a timeline was created listing the world news headlines between the years 1960-68. 

Then the exhibition gratefully received from Mr Geoffrey Claridge, a copy of a cine-film he had recorded showing the day to day life on site of the excavators.  This remarkable piece of archive material could be viewed on the computer just inside the entrance of the museum, and before the first board of the ‘Ruins, Rotas and Romances’ exhibition. The film can still be viewed in the museum.

The eighteen boards carried the following titles (many with pictures):-

• Ruins, Rotas and Romances

• Benefactors and Directors (2 x boards)

• Friends, Romans and Countrymen

• Water mains and Romans

• Trenches and Trowels (2 x boards)
  
  
  
  
  

• Diggers and Ditches

• Cabbages and Fishcakes

• Romance Amid the Ruins

• Camps and School

• Beaches and Beer

• Actors and Archaeologists

• Bones and Burials
  
  

• Film Crews and Footage

• Fishbourne to Rome

• Openings and Officials

• Princes and Politicians

The archives give an insight to how huge and demanding the management role undertaken by Mrs Rule was.  She organised the day to day food supplies, the accommodation for the diggers and the number of diggers required each day.  She handled the correspondence, including dealing with The Association for Cultural Exchange, who had eight students coming over from America wanting to dig at Fishbourne.  The day to day journal written by G.P.Burstow reveals that diggers came from across the globe, even as far away as Australia.  Mrs Rule became the first Director of Fishbourne Roman Palace and her responsibilities were vast and varied, including giving a guided tour of the site to King Gustav of Sweden.

The daily rota

What the diggers did in their spare time can be viewed on the boards entitled’ Actors and Archaeologists’ and’ Beaches and Beer’.  Relationships blossomed and nine couples met and eventually married (Romance amid the Ruins).

Several diggers went on to academic success.

Martin Henig became a Professor of the Institute of  Archaeology at Oxford University.  He has been a busy author writing many books, including Art in Roman Britain and Religion in Roman Britain.

Beric Morley was seen regularly on the Channel Four TimeTeam programme.  The excavations coincided with the opening of the Chichester Festival Theatre (Actors and Archaeologists). This led to a good trip out for the off duty actors, including Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowight, and the diggers were able to take a trip out to the theatre in the evenings.  The diggers were even invited to a cheese and wine party one Friday evening by the Mayor of Chichester.  

Prince Charles, the Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by the Prince’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten, (Princes and Politicians), were just a few of a number of dignitaries who visited the remains.

For many weeks after the opening of the Palace remains, the roads in to Fishbourne were regularly congested, and visitors queued patiently to view this wonderful and exciting discovery.

In conclusion, please view the two boards ‘Benefactors and Directors’ – for without the financial generosity of Ivan Margary, the Palace at Fishbourne in all probability would be resting under a housing estate, and dwell for a moment or two on what would be lost, not just to the visiting adult public, but also to the thousands of visiting schoolchildren who experience contact with the Romans through the education workshops and artifact handling of things made and used by people living nearly two thousand years ago.

Footnote - The Sunday Times, through their then Managing Director, Dennis Hamilton, donated £15,000 for the laying out of the Fishbourne Palace Museum.