Summary
An Iron Age defended settlement and a Romano British minor villa 200m SSW of Higher Holcombe Farm.
Reasons for Designation
Defended Iron Age farmsteads are known as defended settlements. The enclosing defences were of earthen construction some had a timber fence or palisade. They would have been occupied by small communities, perhaps no more than a single family group. Defended settlements are a rare monument type. Romano-British villas were extensive rural estates containing groups of domestic, agricultural and occasionally industrial buildings. They usually contain a well-appointed dwelling house. Most were partly or wholly stone-built, many with a timber-framed superstructure on masonry footings. Roofs were generally tiled and the house could feature tiled or mosaic floors, under floor heating, wall plaster, glazed windows and cellars. Many had integral or separate suites of heated baths. The house was usually accompanied by a range of buildings providing accommodation, workshops and storage for agricultural produce. Villa buildings were constructed from the first to the fourth centuries AD. They are usually complex structures occupied over several hundred years and continually remodelled. Villa owners tended to be drawn from a limited elite section of Romano-British society, the majority seem to have been in the hands of wealthy natives with a Romanised lifestyle, and some were built directly on the sites of Iron Age farmsteads. The majority are classified as `minor' villas. They indicate the rate, extent and degree to which native British society became Romanised, as well as indicating the sources of inspiration behind changes of taste and custom. In addition, they serve to illustrate the agrarian and economic history of the Roman province, allowing comparisons over wide areas both within and beyond Britain. The Iron Age defended settlement and Romano British minor villa 200m SSW of Higher Holcombe Farm is an important monument containing all elements of change in society before, during and after the Roman conquest.
History
See Details.
Details
This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 10 November 2015. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
DV 613
Legacy System:
RSM - OCN
Sources
Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
