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Roman Villas in Britain: New Discoveries
This is a list of (a) villas, alphabetically by county, discovered since publication of my Gazetteer of Roman Villas in Britain in 1993; and (b) key new discoveries at known Roman villas, or new published research. Please contact me with examples and links!
This Page is Actively Being Updated
BERKSHIRE
Villa nr Boxford, Lambourn Valley, Berks.
ROMAN VILLA COMPLEX WITH MOSAICS, excavated by archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology with local community groups and volunteers. They explored the function, status, chronology, extent and relationship of three Roman sites, which represented a significant focus of high-status Roman occupation in the Lambourn Valley. During the first year of the project such investigations uncovered a large villa and bath house, with a farmstead following in the second year.
https://cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/stunning-mosaic-found-in-roman-villa-near-boxford/
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
Olney, Warrington Road (Aldi Site), Bucks.
ROMAN MOSAIC - POSSIBLE NEW VILLA - DISCOVERED DURING EXCAVATION IN ADVANCE OF DEVELOPMENT. BBC News repoted on 17th March 2023: ‘Archaeologists have uncovered what they believe are the remains of a Roman villa and bath house under land earmarked for a supermarket. The discovery, which features mosaic brickwork, was made in Warrington Road in Olney, Buckinghamshire. The site is being prepared for the construction of a new Aldi supermarket. Oxford Archaeology, who carried out the work for developer Angle Property, deemed the mosaic "archaeological remains of high significance". The dig was commissioned due to the site's proximity to the existing Roman Site at Olney. Archaeologists said the mosaic featured "vibrant colours and intricate decorative patterns" made up of red, white and blue tiles.’
See more at BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-64918113
Also there’s a nice report here: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/remains-of-centuries-old-roman-villa-and-bath-house-found-under-uk-supermarket-site
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Chedworth Roman Villa, Glos.
NEW DATING EVIDENCE - POSSIBLE 5TH CENTURY MOSAIC. Reports emerged in late 2020 that a fifth century AD mosaic had been re-examined by National Trust archaeologists, a potentially unprecedented discovery in the archaeology of Romano-British villas.
LEICESTERSHIRE
Rutland Roman Villa, Stamford, Rutland, Leics.
NEW VILLA - EXTENSIVE VILLA COMPLEX WITH MOSAICS AND WORKING FARM. Has featured on BBC2’s ‘Digging for Britain’. Being investigated collaboratively by Historic England and University of Leicester Archaeological Services. Substantial post-excavation work in progress. Finds include Roman mosaics.
It began in 2020, when crop marks were seen and excavation unearthed villa remains including a large mosaic. Surveys in 2021 showed a number of substantial structures across the complex, extending 13 ?acres. In the following two years, a better insight was gained into chronology and another mosaic was discovered. The villa phasing spreads over 300 years with the richest phase dating to the 4th century, and was a working farm as well as a high status home.
It also appears to have an ‘upgraded barn’ with bath-house and hypocaust - an aisled farmhouse? This dates to the earliest phase of the villa, undergoing repeated refurbishments over two centuries. The villa fell into disrepair.
There is a fire over the mosaic from the latest phase - the awesome Dr David Neal has painted it (the Hector and Achilles mosaic) - the Achilles figure was destroyed, alongside other areas.
Rutland Roman Villa, Stamford (Source: https://twitter.com/HistoricEngland/status/1622540911442812929
LINCS
Sudbrooke Roman Villa, West Lindsey. Located at New Ten Acre Covert, and subject to recent survey investigations and excavation. Information held on the Lincs HER.
Sudbrooke Roman Villa, cleaning finds July 2024. Finds include painted wall plaster from the villa site. (Credit: Zoe Tomlinson; see also @ZoeTomlinson2 and @bgu_archaeology)
NORTH YORKSHIRE
Quarry Farm, Ingleby Barwick, North Yorks. New Roman villa discovered originally through aerial photography and an extensive programme of evaluation, the site was excavated in 2003-04 in advance of housing development. Unusually for the region, the site demonstrated evidence for occupation from the later prehistoric period through to the Anglo-Saxon. The excavations at Ingleby Barwick are significant not only for their scale but also for being carried out under modern recording conditions, allowing for extensive and detailed analysis of the finds. The villa is also a rare example of a Roman civilian site in the hinterland of Hadrian’s Wall. The Roman winged corridor villa and its outlying stone structures were surrounded by an extensive layout of rectilinear enclosures. While the main villa building was preserved in situ, excavation of the surrounding area revealed features such as ovens and paved surfaces, as well as rare finds such as a glass tableware vessel probably from Egypt and a large hoard of metalwork. The pottery has allowed a detailed phasing of the site to be proposed, while the environmental evidence reveals the villa to have been a working farm. Sources: Tees Archaeology: Archaeological Services, Durham University: A Roman Villa at the Edge of Empire. Excavations at Ingleby Barwick, Stockton-on-Tees, 2003–4. Edited by S. Willis and P. Carne. CBA Research Report 170. Council for British Archaeology, York, 2013
OXFORDSHIRE
Cutteslowe, Oxon. Roman villa reported to be found here by Dr Mark Merrony, Wolfson College, Oxford. When reporting on the potential discovery of a Roman fort, the same Guardian article of 2nd August 2024 by Dalya Alberge says, ‘[Merrony’s] previous discoveries include two Roman villas, at Ford in Pembrokeshire and at Cutteslowe in Oxfordshire, which he found in 2002 and 2016 respectively.’
Wantage area, Oxon. A Roman villa has been found at a housing estate development near Wantage, Oxfordshire. It was reported here by the BBC in April 2024 (brief video included.) Archaeologists from the Red River Archaeology Group came across the complex while working on a Barratt and David Wilson Homes housing development at Brookside Meadows in Grove near Wantage.
PEMBROKESHIRE
Ford, Pembs. Roman villa reported to be found here by Dr Mark Merrony, Wolfson College, Oxford. When reporting on the potential discovery of a Roman fort, the same Guardian article of 2nd August 2024 by Dalya Alberge says, ‘[Merrony’s] previous discoveries include two Roman villas, at Ford in Pembrokeshire and at Cutteslowe in Oxfordshire, which he found in 2002 and 2016 respectively.’
SHROPSHIRE
Wroxeter hinterland, Shrops. ‘Archaeological survey detects Roman villas and iron age farmsteads in Shropshire. National Trust ground-scanning technology maps new features close to site of Roman city of Wroxeter. Headline of Guardian article 4 July 2024.
‘As well as the two buried villas, characterised on the scan by their highly distinctive shape, and eight prehistoric farms, archaeologists also found evidence of a Roman cemetery, Roman road network and new features associated with a previously identified Anglo Saxon great hall.
‘The National Trust, which owns the land, said the “one of a kind” survey was carried out to help it plan for future nature conservation and tree-planting schemes across the landscape, as part of its ambitious targets to address climate change.’
(The Guardian article also quotes NT archaeologist Janine Young as saying that only six other villas are known in Shropshire, whereas more are known and suspected - see the Gazetteer (SH1-SH15) and the current Shropshire HER.)