EBTS members helps restore ‘ROMAN’ BOX HEDGE
The box hedges growing today in the garden of the Roman villa remains at Fishbourne Palace in West Sussex, England, are not, of course, the same plants that were growing there in Roman times. Box is long-lived, but not that long-lived! Or at least, not on that site. The existing boxwood plants were established some decades ago in the hedging trenches that were discovered when the amazing Roman villa was uncovered by archaeologists in the 1960s. Box is known to have been introduced to Great Britain by the Romans, and the formal gardens in the huge courtyard of the palace were a reflection of the opulent living conditions here.
A group from EBTS UK visited Fishbourne in May 2024 and were dismayed to discover that the box hedges were in a poor state – overgrown, compacted, and worst of all, badly damaged by box tree caterpillars. Practices in relation to historic sites are much more stringent these days, and were these plants to be removed, it was explained to the EBTS by archaeologist Gill Campbell of Historic England, it would not be considered good practice to replace them, indeed not be permitted. It was imperative, therefore, that these plants be saved if possible, in order for box hedging to continue to be present in the gardens of Fishbourne Palace.
Immediately after our visit, a generous donation was made by members of the EBTS UK who wish to remain anonymous, to enable a programme of spraying which would save the ‘Roman’ box. Since our visit local media has started to pick up the story.
For more about the Roman villa at Fishbourne, and to arrange a visit, click HERE
- General view of the excavations in the summer of 1963 looking west
- The site of the Roman Palace today
- Before
- After
- After
- After
The company that did the spraying was Eradipest and they used a Bacillus thuringiensis based spray which only kills caterpillars and is safe for use as it does not harm other garden beneficials.
You can read more about dealing with Box Tree Moth & Caterpillars on the EBTS UK website by clicking HERE
