Dover

DOVER

(Dubris)

Quality of Remains

Ease of Access

Atmosphere & Setting

History:

Dubris, named for the river Dour on which it stands, served during much of the Roman period from the 80s ad as a marine base, home to the Classis Britannica or British Fleet. As such, the fort there was not of standard design, and watched over a busy port, with a pharos (or lighthouse) standing on the hills on either side of the settlement. As a centre of shipping, Dubris was the nexus of several roads, including those to Lympne, Richborough and Canterbury. A town grew up around the fort, including a building of some quality (see below), but the fort fell into a decline during the 3rd century and was replaced in 270 AD with one of the Saxon shore forts, along with Reculver and Richborough. After this there is no mention of the Classis Britannica here and the new fortress partially superimposed itself on the plan of the previous fort, destroying several civil sites in the process.

Occupation

The Classis Britannica was stationed here for much of the Roman occupation, though they appear to have been replaced in the late 3rd century by 'militum Tungrecanorum' according to the Notitia Dignitatum. This unit is not attested elsewhere but, given the irregular naming convention of this document, they may be the same unit as the 2nd Cohort of Tungri, a thousand-strong infantry unit previously based at Birrens and Castlesteads.

Remains and Visit:

Of the two lighthouses at Dover, the later souternmost one survivies only as sparse rubble and is unvisitable. The northern one, however, survives to almost half its original height next to the Saxon church in the middle of Dover castle. This is an impressive piece of construction. The only fragment of the two forts that can be seen in the town can be found behind the Dover Discovery Centre. This consists of the foundations of one of the gate houses from the Classis Britannica fort, lying next to a bastion of the Saxon shore fort, close to the point where the walls intersected. By far the best Roman remains in Dover are to be found at the Roman Painted House. This is a small museum run by the Kent Archaeological Unit, in the basement of which are the remarkable remains of an elegant building with heated floors and beautifully painted walls. This building survivied as it was cut in half by the wall of the Saxon shore fort when it was built and the earth bank behind the rampart filled the house, preserving it. No photos are visible on this site as photography is forbidden in the museum.

Images:


Pharos	Fort Defences	Aerial view (c/o Google Earth)