RICHBOROUGH

site of a Roman port (Rutupiae) in Dover district, administrative and historic county of Kent, England, located just north of Sandwich. After the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 CE, Rutupiae was established to guard the Wantsum Channel, which then separated the Isle of Thanet from the mainland. Extant remains of Richborough Castle include the north wall of a Saxon Shore fort, possibly built in the 3rd century. Two miles to the north in Thanet is the site of the landing of the Saxon leaders Hengist and Horsa in 449 CE. The port decayed subsequently with silting of the Wantsum Channel, and the site is now inland.