Emily Chan
In southeastern England, archaeologists unearthed an ancient Roman villa complex containing several artifacts, such as a set of lead scrolls. The complex was discovered at a housing development site called Brookside Meadows in the village of Grove, which is located in Oxfordshire County.
The Red River Archaeology Group had been conducting excavations at the site ever since signs of a stone building surfaced last year. So far, part of the complex has been carefully uncovered, but the rest still has yet to be revealed.
According to Louis Stafford, a project manager at the archaeology group, the complex takes up an area of approximately 29,000 square feet.
Its remains include an ornately decorated villa building, a structure with traces of colonnades in the interior that may have served as a hall, and a large number of artifacts.
Evidence shows that Roman activity began in the first or second centuries and continued into the late fourth or early fifth centuries. However, the area where the complex was found was actually occupied much earlier, sometime during the Bronze Age.
It is assumed that the owners of such villa complexes were local landowners who embraced Roman ideals and Romans themselves. Roman occupation in Britain lasted from A.D. 43 to A.D. 410.
“These complexes range from agricultural administration centers for an individual family to more grand complexes [including] baths and temples, which may have been utilized by a wider community,” said Stafford.
He also referred to the complexes as “the pinnacle of Roman society in Britain.” These types of complexes are not found very often, and when they are, they usually consist of just one large structure.
At the site, there were mosaic tiles, some painted plaster featuring floral motifs, an intricate brick floor, hundreds of coins, a belt buckle shaped like the head of a horse, tableware, rings, brooches, and miniature votive axes.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
