Fishbourne Roman Palace
Read Fishbourne Roman Palace and check the IELTS Reading answers. Fishbourne Roman Palace is in the village of Fishbourne in West Sussex, England. This large palace was built in the 1st century AD, around thirty years after the Roman conquest of Britain, on the site of Roman army grain stores that…
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Fishbourne Roman Palace is in the village of Fishbourne in West Sussex, England. This large palace was built in the 1st century AD, around thirty years after the Roman conquest of Britain, on the site of Roman army grain stores that had been established after the invasion during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius in 43 AD. The rectangular palace was built around formal gardens, the northern half of which has been reconstructed. There were extensive alterations in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, with many of the original black-and-white mosaic floors being overlaid with more sophisticated coloured ones, including a perfectly preserved mosaic of a dolphin in the north wing. More alterations were in progress when the palace burnt down in around 270 AD, after which it was abandoned.
Vocabulary from this passage
9 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- administer verb
To manage an organisation or property and be responsible for running it.
In the passage:
"This is administered by the Sussex Archaeological Society": "administered" means managed, not handed out.
Synonyms: manage, run
- alterations noun
Changes made to a building to improve it or make it suitable for a new use.
In the passage:
Q2 says "renovated more than once"; the passage says "extensive alterations in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD".
Synonyms: renovated, modifications
- close parallels with noun phrase
Strong similarities between two things, used when comparing designs, events or ideas.
In the passage:
"extremely close parallels with the imperial palace of Domitian" is Russell's evidence for dating the palace later.
Synonyms: strong similarities to, clear resemblances to
- commemorate verb
To honour the memory of a person or event with a ceremony or monument.
In the passage:
"an inscription commemorating a temple dedicated to the gods": one of the two records that name Cogidubnus.
Synonyms: honour, mark
- erected verb
Built or put up, usually a large structure such as a building or monument.
In the passage:
Q1 says "the first structure to be built"; the passage says "the first buildings to be erected on the site".
Synonyms: built, constructed
Opposites: demolished
- installed as verb phrase
Formally placed in a position of power, such as ruler or leader, by others.
In the passage:
Cogidubnus "may have been installed as king": here "installed" means given power, not fitted like equipment.
Synonyms: appointed as, put in place as
Opposites: removed as
- more plausibly adverb phrase
In a way that is more believable or more likely to be true.
In the passage:
"its construction may more plausibly date to after 92 AD": the writer prefers one dating, but hedges with "may".
Synonyms: more credibly, more likely
Opposites: less plausibly
- overlaid with verb phrase
Covered with a new layer that is placed on top of an older one.
In the passage:
Q9 says "colour was added to the" floors; the passage says floors "overlaid with more sophisticated coloured ones".
Synonyms: added to, covered with
- with regard to adverb phrase
Used to introduce the subject you are about to discuss or deal with.
In the passage:
"With regard to who lived in Fishbourne Palace, there are a number of theories": a formal way to introduce a topic.
Synonyms: concerning, as for
Answers with explanations
- 1. FALSE
The deciding word is **first**. The palace was built **on the site of** army grain stores that already stood there, and the later timber and stone houses were **demolished** before the palace went up. So the palace was not the first structure, and the statement is FALSE.
- 2. TRUE
Look at the building work after the palace was finished. **Renovated** matches **extensive alterations**, and a second phase of **redevelopment** began in the late 3rd century. Two phases means **more than once**, so the statement is TRUE.
- 2-3: base
2: Look at the building work after the palace was finished. **Renovated** matches **extensive alterations**, and a second phase of **redevelopment** began in the late 3rd century. Two phases means **more than once**, so the statement is TRUE.
3: The deciding words are **large in comparison with**, which means bigger than the Italian palaces. The text says only that Fishbourne was **approximately equivalent to** some of them: the same size, not larger. The "largest north of the Alps" claim is a different comparison, so the statement is FALSE.
- 3. FALSE
The deciding words are **large in comparison with**, which means bigger than the Italian palaces. The text says only that Fishbourne was **approximately equivalent to** some of them: the same size, not larger. The "largest north of the Alps" claim is a different comparison, so the statement is FALSE.
- 3-4: C
3: The deciding words are **large in comparison with**, which means bigger than the Italian palaces. The text says only that Fishbourne was **approximately equivalent to** some of them: the same size, not larger. The "largest north of the Alps" claim is a different comparison, so the statement is FALSE.
4: **Research is continuing** matches **an ongoing archaeological excavation**, and **close to the palace** matches the **nearby** buildings. The work is still happening, so the statement is TRUE.
- 4. TRUE
**Research is continuing** matches **an ongoing archaeological excavation**, and **close to the palace** matches the **nearby** buildings. The work is still happening, so the statement is TRUE.
- 5. FALSE
The deciding word is **agree**. The writer lists **a number of theories** about who the palace was built for (Cogidubnus, Lucullus, Verica, Catuarus) and names no final answer. Researchers do not agree, so the statement is FALSE.
- 6. NOT GIVEN
Look for how the palace ended. It was **destroyed in a fire** around 270 AD, but the text never says what started the fire or that **local people** did it. For TRUE or FALSE it would have to name the cause, so the answer is NOT GIVEN.
- 7. ["Roman army","army"]
Look at the start of the passage for the first buildings. The note's **contained food** matches **grain stores**, and the stores belonged to the **Roman army**. That gives the answer.
- 8. ["formal gardens","gardens"]
The note's **surrounded** is a paraphrase of **was built around**. What the palace was built around is **formal gardens**.
- 9. ["mosaic floors","floors"]
Look for the **2nd and 3rd centuries**. The note's **colour was added** matches floors **overlaid with more sophisticated coloured ones**, and the floors that were covered were the original **mosaic floors**.
- 10. wall
Find the discovery in **1960**. **The first part to be found** matches what the workmen **uncovered** by accident while laying a water main. The note already has "a", so the singular noun **wall** fits.
- 11. 93
Find **Sallustius Lucullus** in the paragraph on who lived there. **He may have lived there until** matches the date he was **executed**, **in or shortly after 93 AD**. The 92 AD earlier in the paragraph is a dating of the building, not of Lucullus.
- 12. ["gold ring","ring"]
Look for **Catuarus** in the next paragraph. The note's **was found there** matches **the recent discovery of** an item **belonging to him**, and that item is a **gold ring**.
- 13. ["modern museum","museum"]
Look in the last paragraph for the **present day**. **Has been built on the site to help protect it** matches the museum built to incorporate **most of the visible remains**. The answer is **museum**.