Reasons for Designation
Romano-British villas were extensive rural estates at the focus of which were
groups of domestic, agricultural and occasionally industrial buildings. The
term "villa" is now commonly used to describe either the estate or the
buildings themselves. The buildings usually include a well-appointed dwelling
house, the design of which varies considerably according to the needs, taste
and prosperity of the occupier. Most of the houses 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,
underfloor 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 for farm labourers, workshops
and storage for agricultural produce. These were arranged around or alongside
a courtyard and were surrounded by a complex of paddocks, pens, yards and
features such as vegetable plots, granaries, threshing floors, wells and
hearths, all approached by tracks leading from the surrounding fields. Villa
buildings were constructed throughout the period of Roman occupation, from the
first to the fourth centuries AD. They are usually complex structures occupied
over several hundred years and continually remodelled to fit changing
circumstances. They could serve a wide variety of uses alongside agricultural
activities, including administrative, recreational and craft functions, and
this is reflected in the considerable diversity in their plan. The least
elaborate villas served as simple farmhouses whilst, for the most complex, the
term "palace" is not inappropriate. Villa owners tended to be drawn from a
limited elite section of Romano-British society. Although some villas belonged
to immigrant Roman officials or entrepreneurs, the majority seem to have been
in the hands of wealthy natives with a more-or-less Romanised lifestyle, and
some were built directly on the sites of Iron Age farmsteads. Roman villa
buildings are widespread, with between 400 and 1000 examples recorded
nationally. The majority of these are classified as `minor' villas to
distinguish them from `major' villas. The latter were a very small group of
extremely substantial and opulent villas built by the very wealthiest members
of Romano-British society. Minor villas are found throughout lowland Britain
and occasionally beyond. Roman villas provide a valuable index of 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. As a very diverse and often long-lived type of monument, a
significant proportion of the known population are identified as nationally
important.
Despite some historic robbing and later agricultural activity, the Roman
villa remains 290m south east of Springfield Farm, survive comparatively well
and will contain important information relating to the construction, use and
demise of the complex. Geophysical surveys combined with partial excavation
have clearly demonstrated the extent and character of this important Roman
settlement. The location of the site close to the Roman town of Wickwar and
combined with the high density of Roman villa and other remains in the
district, serves to enhance the importance of this villa.
Details
The monument includes a Romano-British villa situated on a slight spur
overlooking Hawkesbury Common. The villa's existence was first suggested by
various crop marks, particularly those visible during the summers of 1975-77
and 1995 together with pottery scatters. Its extent and form was confirmed by
geophysical surveys conducted in 1997, 1999 and 2003, and its character
confirmed by partial excavation in the summers of 2001-2003. Together the
geophysical surveys reveal a villa complex including at least three large
buildings linked by walls forming a courtyard surrounded by a series of
curving and rectilinear ditches. The two largest buildings lie within the
southern part of the courtyard, are parallel to each other and are orientated
north to south. The smaller building denotes the northern edge of the
courtyard and is aligned east to west. Excavations within the northern
building have revealed the buried foundations of a 3rd century rectangular
building measuring 25m wide by 15m long surviving up to five courses high.
Collapsed building materials, including Roman hexagonal pennant roof slabs
and iron nails together with coin evidence suggest the building collapsed
sometime after AD 316. A cobbled surface lying outside the structure and a
cobbled trackway were also revealed. The unexcavated southern buildings are
each approximately 40m long by 20m wide and stand 35m apart. They form part
of the same complex and are likely to have been built at the same time in the
3rd century AD. To the east of the villa complex are the buried foundations
of a broad and irregular wall, in places up to 3m wide. Within the bounds of
the broad wall and appended to the east wing of the villa is another
irregular structure approximately 15m long and 10m wide. Situated a short
distance to the south of the villa is a small rectangular structure of
unknown date and function known only from the geophysical survey. Further
evidence of intensive occupation is provided by an array of artefacts
recovered during excavation and fieldwalking including coinage of 3rd and 4th
centuries, stone roof slabs, pottery (Samian, Amphora, black burnished Dorset
and Oxfordshire wares, Mortaria and one beaker sherd with a 1st century
date), animal bones (including oyster shell), one lump of metalworking
clinker, two fragments of window glass, a bronze Roman military style brooch,
a steelyard lead weight, a large number of iron objects (mostly nails, one
lump of iron slag, one small iron hobnail) and a buckle.
Modern fencing along field boundaries is excluded from the scheduling, but
the ground below is included.
Sources: Archaeological Desktop Study, Report for Bristol and Region
Archaeological Services no. 383. (2003)
Barker, P. P. & Mercer, E. J. F. Geophysical Survey Report for Bristol and
Region Archaeological Services, (1999)
Evans, D. E., The Roman Pottery from Excavations at Springfield Farm, (2001)
Evans, D. E., The Roman Pottery from Excavations at Springfield Farm, (2002)
Evans, D. E., The Roman Pottery from Excavations at Springfield Farm, (2003)
Jackson, A., Martin, J. & Martin, M. Geophysical Survey Report, (2003)
Osgood, R., The Excavation of a Roman Villa, Horton, (2001) Osgood, R., The
Excavation of a Roman Villa, Horton, (2002)
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.
