This Page is Actively Being Updated. last update: 13 march 2026
Roman Villas in Britain: New Discoveries
This is a list of (a) newly discovered 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 feel free to contact me with examples, corrections and links.
Please also see the Archaeology Data Service: The Rural Settlement of Roman Britain: an online resource; although, as with all archaeological resources, it is not fully comprehensive.
For more information about sites in a particular area, including those not included in my Gazetteer, the list below or the Archaeology Data Service, please consult the relevant HER records for England and Wales.
Roman Villas: New Discoveries
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
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet, Cambs.
POSSIBLE NEW VILLA IDENTIFIED VIA GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY. Archaeological fieldwork including extensive area excavation and geophysical survey took place here in advance of road development by National Highways. This was carried out by MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology). Outlines of rectilinear stone building discovered in an area of widespread Roman period activity. This is mentioned by MOLA in one of its public-facing teaching videos, available to watch on You Tube. (See this video at 26 mins ff.)
Eddington, Cambs.
The remains of a Roman villa were excavated in 2018 near Eddington, the new district developed by the University of Cambridge. The villa was uncovered by the University’s Cambridge Archaeological Unit in a field next to the Madingley Road Park & Ride and was opened to the public at Open Eddington during September 2018. The excavation team had already suspected the existence of a Roman building when they found Roman building materials, including roof tiles, bricks and window glass, during a previous dig. The subsequent excavation - in an area the size of four football pitches - revealed a rectangular Roman enclosure containing the outline of a ‘winged-type’ villa, along with a large aisled hall and other buildings. Futher details are available in the links below.
https://eddington-cambridge.co.uk/news-and-updates/remains-of-roman-villa-discovered-near-eddington
Great Staughton, Cambs.
The Roman villa at Rushey Farm, Great Staughton is mentioned in reports of the discovery of a Roman town that it overlooks, giving an interesting insight into villa-town relationships in the region. (This villa is listed as CA90 in my original Gazetteer.)
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1006866
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/sep/18/remains-of-roman-town-cambridgeshire-heritage-protection-solar-farm-great-staughton
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Badminton, Glos.
NEW VILLA DISCOVERED at Badminton. This villa is included in Holbrook’s (2006) excellent discussion of the Cotswold villas.
Source: Holbrook, N. 2006, ‘The Roman Period’ in Holbrook, N & Jurica J (eds) Twenty-Five Years of Archaeology in Gloucestershire. A Review of New Discoveries and New Thinking in Gloucestershire and Bristol 1979-2004. Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Report 3, 103-108, and figs 4-5.
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.
Hucclecote, Glos.
NEW EXCAVATIONS. Between April 2014 and November 2016, Wessex Archaeology carried out a 1.3 ha open-area excavation and watching brief prior to and during the construction of Mayfield Place, Churchdown Lane, Gloucester … The archaeological work was undertaken due to the presence of known Romano-British remains associated with Hucclecote Roman villa (Scheduled Monument GC 188). The results of this archaeological fieldwork were published in 2018 by Cai Mason et al: ‘The Landscape of Hucclecote Roman Villa: Excavations at Mayfield Place, Churchdown Lane, Gloucester, 2014−16’, Trans. Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 136 (2018), 117–160. This publication contains an extremely useful summary of all previous work undertaken at the site and its environs, including that undertaken after the closure of the Hucclecote Centre in 2011.
Stanley Meadow, Lower Woods, South Gloucestershire, Glos.
Charred wheat from corn drier discussed as indicative of malting and beer-making, Pelling, R.E. 2013. ‘Stanley Meadow, Lower Woods, South Gloucestershire: Charred plant remains from a corn-drier’. English Heritage Res. Rep. Series no. 30-2013. Also discussed briefly in a sub-regional context in Cai Mason et al 2018: ‘The Landscape of Hucclecote Roman Villa: Excavations at Mayfield Place, Churchdown Lane, Gloucester, 2014−16’, Trans. Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 136 (2018), 152: ‘The cereal remains from a corn drier on the Roman villa site at Stanley Meadow, Lower Woods, South Gloucestershire, were also dominated by those of spelt wheat, with smaller quantities of those emmer wheat and barley’. See also Mason (2018, 155): ‘The predominance of spelt wheat within these assemblages has been seen at other villa sites in the area, such as at Stanley Meadow (Pelling 2013) and Great Witcombe (AML 1998).’
Turkdean, Glos.
NEW VILLA DISCOVERED. Turkdean villa is included in Holbrook’s (2006) excellent discussion of the Cotswold villas. Figure 3 shows ‘Turkdean villa: composite plan of parchmarks and geophysical survey results for the main courtyard house’.
Source: Holbrook, N. 2006, ‘The Roman Period’ in Holbrook, N & Jurica J (eds) Twenty-Five Years of Archaeology in Gloucestershire. A Review of New Discoveries and New Thinking in Gloucestershire and Bristol 1979-2004. Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Report 3, 103-108, and fig 3.
Willersey, Glos.
IRON AGE SETTLEMENT AND ‘ROMAN VILLA’ UNEARTHED. Following a rare find of two swords, an excavation near Willersey has found what appear to be the remains of an IA settlement and Roman villa. Credits to Cotswold Archaeology and Historic England. Reported in the mainstream media including the Guardian and BBC in July 2025.
https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/iron-age-roman-settlement-willersey/
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
LINCONSHIRE
Sudbrooke Roman Villa, West Lindsey, Lincs. 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)
Washingborough, Lincoln Eastern Bypass. Possible villa remains unearthed in excavations. Lee 2017, https://romanlincolnshire.wordpress.com/2017/01/19/villas-and-vineyards/
MONMOUTHSHIRE (GWENT)
Porthcasseg, Monmouthshire
Note 17 in Neil Holbrook’s chapter on the Roman period, page 125, reads, ‘A new villa, or just possibly a temple, was discovered in 1996 at Porthcasseg on the west bank of the Wye in Monmouthshire (Archaeol. in Wales 36 (1996), 77-8).’
Source: Holbrook, N. 2006, ‘The Roman Period’ in Holbrook, N & Jurica J (eds) Twenty-Five Years of Archaeology in Gloucestershire. A Review of New Discoveries and New Thinking in Gloucestershire and Bristol 1979-2004. Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Report 3, p125
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
Blackgrounds, Chipping Warden, Northants. This Roman villa site is is near the villages of Edgcote and Chipping Warden and was found and ‘excavated’ in the 1830s, but proximity to the destructive route of HS2 has led to renewed interest and excavation of the multi-period landscape in the vicinity, notably a large Roman trading settlement/town. This has been reported in the media including BBC2’s for Digging for Britain on 10th March 2026. See also Guardian article of 11th Jan 2022; and Guardian article of 27th Feb 2022; and HS2-sponsored intermim publications and grey literature.
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.)
WILTSHIRE
Lay Wood, near Devizes, Wilts. The remains of what is believed to be a 2,000-year-old Roman villa have been discovered near Devizes in Wiltshire. Archaeologists uncovered the remains on land near Lay Wood, between the Kennet and Avon Canal and Horton Road, as part of a survey ahead of a new housing development. Wessex Archaeology examined what was found. Steve Melligan, from the Crown Estate, which manages the land, said it was an ‘exciting find’, adding that ‘if the remains are of sufficient merit and condition we will ensure they are conserved as a valuable historical attraction for the local areas of Bishops Cannings, Roundway, Devizes and Wiltshire as whole’. BBC News, 10th Oct 2013.