The Roman Temple

Angus Duncan Webster, or A.D. Webster, was the Superintendent of Greenwich Park between 1897 and 1920. In this role, Webster would have been responsible for the day-to-day running and maintenance of the park, from its landscapes and buildings to its nature and wildlife. 

Webster was a passionate historian and ‘antiquary’ (a kind of early archaeologist), with an intimate knowledge of the park. In 1902, he published the most well-known history book on Greenwich Park, entitled Greenwich Park: Its History and Associations. The book details an archaeological dig he oversaw in the park.

Webster was keen to locate a Roman road, Watling Street, which he believed ran through the park. Watling Street was a route used by ancient Britons, later paved by the Romans to become one of the most important roads in Roman Britain. Although the road eluded him, he did make a different discovery. He writes that: 

‘a search was made in the mound by probing the soil with an iron bar. As a result several tesserae [mosaic tiles] and cement were discovered, which at once confirmed the existence of Roman remains.’ 

Webster, alongside another local antiquary Herbert Jones, carried out some initial excavations on the mound. The team dug trenches and uncovered the remains of a stone statue arm, mosaic floor, coins, wall plaster, roofing and tiles. They also discovered fragments of Roman inscriptions – which were usually found at temples, military sites and urban centres. It was not yet clear what this site was, though the most persuasive argument at the time was that it was the site of a Roman villa. 

Webster wrote in conclusion of the dig:

‘[T]he Greenwich Park discovery is important, adding as it does another link to the chain of evidence respecting the Roman occupation of this part of the County, and surpassing in interest any previously recorded from the immediate neighbourhood.’ 

The next dig that took place on the temple mound was 20 years later in 1999 – this time, it was rather more high-profile. 

Channel 4’s popular television show Time Team, in collaboration with the Museum of London and Birkbeck College, came to Greenwich Park to investigate further.  

A particularly significant find from the 1999 dig was a fragment of a marble inscription. When placed with the others found in the 1902 excavations, the total was now five inscriptions – making this an extremely rare site in south-eastern Britain. While the meanings behind three of the fragments have yet to be determined, two of the five are believed to be dedications. The inscription found in 1999 is believed to be a dedication to ‘the spirit of the emperor’, perhaps also referencing the dedicator’s nomen – the family name of a Roman citizen – and cognomen (a citizen’s nickname).

Harvey Sheldon suggests the dedicator may have been Maecilius Fuscus, a governor (probably AD 238-241 or 244), whose name is also found on a dedication inscription in another archaeological site in Lanchester.

A roof tile with a procurator’s stamp was also discovered – a kind of maker’s mark. At this time, the procurators were responsible for imperial property and finances in Roman London. These stamped tiles were extraordinary finds for their rarity – fewer than 1% of tiles found in London are stamped.