Dubris - Roman Painted House

Roman Painted House

The Roman Painted House is a Roman mansio, a hostel for government officials, which was built in c. 200. It was discovered in 1970 by the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit and, as it houses some of the finest example of Roman murals in Britain (over 400 sq ft (37 m2). of painted plaster, the most extensive ever found north of the Alps), it has been called "Britain's Buried Pompeii".

Above a lower dado, of red or green, an architectural scheme of multi-coloured panels framed by fluted columns is still visible. The columns sit on projecting bases above a stage, producing a clear 3-D effect. Parts of 28 panels survive, each with a motif relating to Bacchus, the Roman God of wine. This Bacchic link, and the building's proximity to the baths, port and fort, has been said by some to suggest that the Painted House was once a brothel. However, this is entirely circumstantial evidence (frescos in brothels tended to be more explicit, as in those at Pompeii, and Bacchic motifs are very commonly found in simply domestic areas) and so most academics believe the rooms are too small to have supported this line of work and instead support its designation as a mansio.

Other features of the Painted House include the Dover Gems, a medieval cut in the floor allowing the hypocaust system to be viewed and a medieval skeleton found in the nearby St Martin-le-Grand church, nicknamed "Fred" by the volunteers who keep the museum running.