Dubris there at anchor "until the ninth hour" (about 3pm) waiting for his supply ships from the second port to come up and meanwhile convening a council of war, he ordered his subordinates to act on their own initiative and then sailed the fleet about seven miles along the coast to an open beach. The Roman fleet in British waters, the "Classis Britannica"'s main purpose was protecting the Gaul-to-Britain routes and supporting the land army in Britannia, not defending the British Isles from invasion. For this reason, its main harbor was in Gesoriacum (Boulogne), not Dover. However, it did have other,
Dubris site of the investiture of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. At its peak, Dubris was a major trading centre, taking over from Rutupiae as the main Roman cross-Channel port. With Rutupiae, it was one of the starting points for Watling Street, the Roman road to Canterbury and, ultimately, London. During the construction of the new A256/York Street bypass in the 1970s Roman remains were discovered and an eight-week excavation followed. The archaeologists discovered a Roman mansio now known as the "Roman Painted House". The mansio, a hostel for government officials, was built in c. 200. It was discovered