History of the Excavations

History of the Excavations

Plan of Silchester 1745

The Victorian Excavations

Our knowledge of Roman Silchester is founded on the extensive excavations carried out within the town walls during the second half of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. The most notable investigation was that by the Society of Antiquaries of London between 1890 and 1909 which had the aim of revealing the whole life and history of a Roman town.

The techniques of the time were sufficient to recover the plans of buildings with stone foundations but were inadequate for tackling many fundamental problems such as the chronology of the settlement, its Iron Age origins and its early Roman development.

Subsequent work in other towns of Roman Britain made it clear that timber predominated in the first and second centuries AD, and wooden buildings appear also to be a feature of Roman towns in their later years. Since evidence of timber buildings was not recovered by the early excavations, the plan we do have is very much that of the town in the third and fourth centuries AD when the town was defended and stone building had become common.

Directors of the Silchester Excavation Fund in 1909 and some of the excavation team 1890-1909

The University of Reading's Involvement

Little new excavation was undertaken after 1909 because it was believed that the early work had been comprehensive. However, since the 1970s the University of Reading has become increasingly involved in new excavations directed by Professor Michael Fulford. Following work on the amphitheatre and forum basilica, which revealed remarkably good preservation of Iron Age and early Roman occupation, a project is currently under way exploring one of the central insulae of the town. It is abundantly clear that the scope for further work inside and outside the walls is enormous.

Some of the excavation team 2000