Across Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th July, 145 Year 8 Latin students journeyed to Chichester to explore Fishbourne Palace, the home of King Cogidubnus. Famous for its appearance in the Cambridge Latin Course textbooks, this was a fantastic chance for students to immerse themselves in a location which was already so familiar from lessons.
After a visit to the museum, students viewed the intricate mosaics and hypocaust system in the north wing of the palace. This included the renowned ‘Cupid on a Dolphin’ mosaic which students enjoyed sketching and commenting on.
We then toured the very gardens explored by Quintus and Cogidubnus in Cambridge Latin Course Book 2, rigged out in traditional Roman clothing. In addition to the introductory film in the cinema, there were two exciting workshops on offer on Roman domestic life and military matters, in which students had the chance to handle and explore the function of 2,000 year old artefacts. After a visit to the gift shop, in which toy rabbits were a popular souvenir given the fact that the first Roman rabbits were unearthed at Fishbourne, we then headed for home, with memories to last a lifetime.
Thank you to the Cogidubnus of the Classics Department, Mr Adams, for organising the trip, Mr Morrison (Salvius?), Ms Hoult, Miss Williams, Mr Janz, Fr Labran, Mrs Macchia Riley, Mr Morley, Mrs Valenzuela, Mrs McIlwaine, Mrs Limon, Mrs Peters, Mr Burgess, Miss Luff, and Mrs Jones for assisting students on both trips.
Star student Jeremy (Year 8) comments further below:
“Today at Fishbourne Roman Palace we had a great time. Firstly, we visited the museum which talked about who lived in the palace and how they lived their lives. Then we saw the mosaics and learnt about what they meant and the story behind each one. Then we visited the beautiful gardens and saw some magnificent flowers. Then we were shown some historical artefacts which were found on site and analysed what they were. For example, some were animals’ bones and some were pieces of Roman pots. We were shown traditional Roman clothing for a king and queen. Overall, the trip was very fun and educational!”
Mr Morrison (Teacher of Classics)
