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The lighthouses (referred to as Pharos) were thought to have been built soon after the Roman invasion of 43 AD (The exact date of their construction is still a matter of debate). They were constructed on two rising cliffs, either side of the Dour valley's harbour. From the example on the Eastern cliff and surviving iconography the lighthouses appeared to have been built so that each octagonal rising storey is slightly smaller than the one below it, which would have given these substantial buildings a tapering effect. The Pharos on the Eastern cliffs is still standing (although it has suffered for severe weathering and medieval repairs) but is the tallest surviving structure of Roman Britain (80ft/24m high). It is in the grounds of Dover castle (It pre-dates the existing castle by many centuries and at the time of its construction it was sited in the rising end of what would have been an Iron Age hillfort overlooking the valley). These lighthouses would probably have had some rudimentary barrier or minor fortifications around them (shown in one of our reconstruction illustrations) as destruction or sabotage would have cost the Roman fleet dearly. The survival of the Eastern Pharos was probably due to it being adapted for use as a bell tower for the adjacent medieval castle's church of St Mary de Castro. Some minor masonry survives on the Western cliff, this is referred to as Bredenstone or the Devil's Drop of Mortar. The now lost medieval village of Breddon/Braddon nearby may have accounted for this name. Three successive Roman military buildings occupied the Roman town of Dubris
the first was as a fort for the Roman Navy in Britain (The Classis The Painted House or Roman mansio, was a centre of administration for a
while and was probably built in 200AD, this was mostly demolished in the The Classic Britannica left Dover for good in the third century AD although
the later Roman army are likely to have occupied the area for more than a Over a thousand feet of the Saxon Shore Fort walls have been traced/located, it was over 10feet thick and its great long walls were punctuated by semi-circular stone bastions. Within the walls are well preserved metalled roads and over 11 timber buildings as well as a much earlier bath house (incorporated into this later building) have been found.
Roman Dover was a successful trading centre in this region and it was to form a vital part of the Saxon Shore defensive network. Britannia as a group have performed at Dover and Boulogne in a later Roman
context. Within the medieval castle grounds in the shadow of the Roman
pharos our scenario involved the pharos being defended from raiders in a
watchtower capacity. If you visit Dover today, a trip to the castle and Painted house are highly recommended, even though the shoreline has changed and a large modern harbour occupies the coast in that area you can still appreciate the sheer size of the Roman operation in that region and staring across from the Eastern cliff to the Western hill with the modern town of Dover below you can understand the vital role of the two huge Roman lighthouses. Useful links: Bibliography Goldsworthy, Adrian (2003). The Complete Roman Army. Thames & Hudson Ltd. PHILP, Brian J Kent History Illustrated¹¹ Frank W Jessup 1966 Kent County Council publication Starr, Chester G. (1960). The Roman Imperial Navy: 31 B.C.-A.D. 324 (2nd Edition). Cornell University Press. Cleere, Henry (1977). "The Classis Britannica". CBA Research Report (18):
16-19. Retrieved on 11 October 2008. |
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The Romans called Dover Dubris as a corruption of the British name Dubras
(meaning waters). Dover was a thriving town and port in Roman Britain it
covered a large area in the Dour valley. It was flanked by two lighthouses
and had a large harbour.
This fort seems to have been occupied well into the 5th Century AD and
there's some recent evidence that it may have been used well into the 6th