East of England - Hertfordshire

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THE ROMAN MOSAIC AND HYPOCAUST

Verulamium Park,
St Albans
AL3 4SW
t: 01727 751810
e: museumbookings@stalbans.gov.uk
w: www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk/hypocaust/

An exciting modern building houses the hypocaust and mosaic floor in Verulamium Park, just a short walk from Verulamium museum. It opens up this part of our heritage to many more visitors and brings to life the scale and magnificence of a major town house from Verulamium. In an age when we are all used to the comfort of central heating, the Hypocaust Project displays one of the first heating systems to be installed in this country.


This Roman mosaic is part of a suite of rooms in a large town house built around AD 200. The 1800 year old hypocaust and its covering mosaic floor were uncovered during excavations in Verulamium Park in the 1930s by Sir Mortimer & Tessa Wheeler. It was decided to leave these in their original Roman location, where they formed part of the reception and meeting rooms of a large town house. The preserved section was part of a suite that originally extended almost twice the surviving length of the room.

Roman Mosaic and Hypocaust opening hours:
Summer - 1st April to 30th September:
Monday to Saturday 10:00 - 16:30
Sunday 14:00 - 16:30

Winter: 1st October to 31st March
Monday to Saturday 10:00 - 15:45
Sunday 14:00 - 15:45

Verulamium Museum
Nearby is award-winning Verulamium museum, displaying beautiful objects from the Roman City of Verulamium, featuring superb mosaics and re-created Roman rooms giving the visitor an opportunity to discover the life and times of a major Roman city.

The Museum of everyday life in Roman Britain. Verulamium Museum is on the site of one of the major cities in Roman Britain, now an attractive park. Inside you will find: recreated Roman rooms, hands-on Discovery Areas, video presentations, touch screen databases and some of the finest Roman mosaics and wall plasters outside the Mediterranean.

Verulamium Museum Opening hours
Monday to Saturday 10:00 -17:30
Sunday 14:00 -17:30
Last admission 17:00

For more information about Verulamium Museum, see www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk/verulamium.