Who's House?

A view of building 1 as it might have looked before AD 340, cut away to show the underfloor heating system (hypocaust). (Drawing by Sue White) © English Heritage Caister was a larger fort than usual, possibly because it had a mixed garrison of infantry, cavalry and sailors.  When built around AD 200, it would have included headquarters, barracks, granaries, workshops, stores and stables.

Roman house interiors were often brightly painted with elaborate designs or scenes.  Fragments of painted plaster were found in this building. (Drawing by Sue White) © English Heritage
 Building 1 as it was called by the excavators, was completed around AD 300 on the site of earlier wooden buildings, and burnt down after AD 340 for reasons unknown.  Its original purpose is also unknown, but it was a single-storey divided into at least seven rooms.  There was a courtyard to the north and a cobbled alley to the south.  In its short life it had many functions, some comfortable and domestic, others more businesslike, including a workshop and a butcher’s shop. 

It had low flint wall footings, timber-framed walls and a tiled roof.  In one room are the pillars of a heating system, forming channels along which warm air circulated under a concrete floor.  Other evidence for comfortable living is provided by fragments of plaster from the inside walls, painted with elaborate designs.