English Heritage’s Richborough Roman Fort open for school visits

Standing at eight metres high, the gateway has been built on the exact spot of the one built here in AD 43, to defend the place where the Roman invasion forces landed in Britain.

English Heritage, which looks after more than 400 historical sites across the country, has also curated a museum display, with previously unseen objects from the collection found at Richborough.

The objects allow visitors to explore the site’s history that spanned both the beginning and the end of Roman rule; from a 2,000-year-old glass cup made from blown glass in the Middle East to a trader’s weight in the shape of Harpocrates, the god of silence, which is the only one of its kind in Britain.

What can schools get out of a visit?

The re-interpretation of Richborough Roman Fort will provide education groups with a unique opportunity to explore the site where the first Roman soldiers landed in Britain in AD43.

As part of a free self-led visit, education groups can:

• Explore the museum displaying Roman artefacts unearthed at the site, and get a bird’s-eye view from the platforms of the reconstructed Claudian Gateway.
• Book an indoor education space and free handling collection, which includes information sheets and prompts for KS1-3 to uncover links to trade, fashion, food, religion, technology and industry, and build an understanding of daily Roman life.

• Download the Teachers’ Kit for KS1-3 to support teaching before, during and after a visit, and explore Richborough Roman Fort as the Gateway to the Roman Empire.
• Give pupils their marching orders with an interactive on-site activity Conquering Britain! This Introduces pupils to marching orders, tactics, and defences, and prepares them to undertake a reconnaissance mission to decide how they would both organise and prevent attacks.
• Combine classroom learning with on-site investigations at Richborough Roman Fort and encourage pupils to solve a mystery by identifying a mysterious 3D-printed replica Roman artefact.

Paul Pattison, English Heritage’s senior properties historian, said: “This is an historic moment. To be able to rebuild a structure as accurately as possible, and one that stands on the exact spot of the original at Richborough almost 2,000 years ago, is remarkable.

“The Roman invasion was a major milestone in our history. We know that Richborough witnessed over 360 years of Roman rule, from the very beginning to the bitter end,  but standing atop this eight metre-high gateway, looking out and imagining what the first Romans might have seen, is quite an experience.”