During excavations undertaken by Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit in the 1970’s ahead of large scale development in Dover town centre, A Roman military bath house was uncovered. The site, which lies to the north of Market Street, is just outside the area covered by the 2nd century naval fortress of the Classis Britannica and just within the walls of the Later Roman Saxon Shore fort. The building measures twenty by eight metres and consists of a series of six heated rooms with the walls surviving to an average height of two metres, rising to four metres at one corner. It has opus signinum floors, a channelled hypocaust with the furnace at the western end and a large metalled courtyard. A base of rammed chalk rubble had been laid ahead of its construction. The bath house appears to have had a long use and numerous phases of development are represented in the surviving evidence. This can be broken down into three main periods; the first coincided with the second phase of development of the CLBR fort, situated just to the south west, and may be dated to c. A.D. 155-160. The second phase, which consisted of a substantial re-build of many of the earlier rooms, may be dated to c. A.D. 190-200. The third phase, which again consisted of a substantial re-build of the period two rooms, as well as a change in the use of some of the rooms, is likely to have occurred during the construction of the Late Roman Saxon Shore Fort in c. A.D. 270. Coins recovered from the occupation levels of the bath house after its period III development suggest that it remained in use throughout the third century A.D. until the last quarter of the fourth century A.D.

The evidence suggests that this bath house was not the primary building at this site, it overlay and partly destroyed a number of early chalk block walls representing a number of buildings and an enclosure, these have been dated to between c. A.D. 100-140. The debris overlying the rooms in the main area of the bath house mainly represents the demolition of the superstructure, which, due to the lack of later evidence within it, may be dated to the late Roman period. (1-3)


From the Register of Scheduled Monuments:
List entry Description
In view of their importance for an understanding of Romano-British urban development and social practice, all surviving examples are considered to be worthy of protection. Despite some disturbance in the past, the Roman bath house 100m south-west of St Mary’s Church survives well. The walls and floors of the bath house are particularly well preserved and the building provides valuable evidence for the nature of urban settlement in the Roman town of Portus Dubris. The site will contain archaeological and environmental information relating to the construction, use and history of the bath house. The monument includes a Roman bath house surviving as buried remains. It is situated on low-lying ground to the east of York Street, north-east of Durham Hill in Dover. The bath house is approximately 20m long and 8m wide and includes a series of six heated rooms. The walls survive to an average of 2m high but rise to 4m high at one corner. It has opus signinum floors and a channelled hypocaust with the furnace at the western end. The bath house was constructed in three periods between the second and fourth centuries AD. The site was discovered during building work in 1881 and was partially excavated in 1973. A female statue has been found nearby, beneath the site of the church of St Martin's le Grand, and is likely to be associated with the bath house. Following partial excavation the site was back-filled and is now a public open space.(4-5)

A number of relief patterned tiles were located within a demolition deposit in room 3 of the period 2 bath house (constructed AD 190-200). This date seems too late for the tiles and it is likely that they were re-used in this period 2 bath house. The distribution of tiles of the same type of these found at dover suggests that they were transported by sea. (6)

<1> Brian and Edna Philp, 1974, CIB: Rescue Excavations in Kent 1972-1974: The Town Centre Excavation in Dover (Article in serial). SKE31869.

<2> Brian Philp, 1983, Kent Archaeological Review: Major Roman Building Discovered at Dover Vol. 74, Kent Arch Rev 74 1983 77 (Article in serial). SKE31866.

<3> Brian Philp, The Discovery and Excavation of the Roman Shore Fort at Dover, Kent (Monograph). SKE32061.

<4> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<5> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

<6> Council for Kentish Archaeology, 2013, Kent Archaeological Review; Roman relief patterned tiles at Dover and elsewhere in Kent. Vol. 191 (Article in serial). SKE31762.