Villa Rustica (Stonesfield)

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The Villa Rustica near Stonesfield is a Roman manor ( Villa rustica ) on the area of ​​today's parish Stonesfield , near Blenheim House , in the county of Oxfordshire in England . In ancient times it was on " Akeman Street ", an important Roman road , and in the Roman province of Britannia ( Britain ). About a kilometer southwest of the villa is the Evenlode river .

history

In 1712 the farmer George Handes (or Hannes) found a mosaic floor while plowing . The apparently well-preserved mosaic attracted a lot of attention at the time, including among Oxford academics, and was drawn. However, there are also reports that it was damaged early on as there were disputes over who should receive the revenue from the visitors, as numerous visitors came to see the mosaic released for viewing by the landowner. Parts of the mosaic were given to visitors or scientists and sent. This led to the complete destruction of the mosaic by the middle of the 19th century. Another four mosaics were found between 1779 and 1780, but they suffered a similar fate. All mosaics are lost today.

A plan of the villa found was never drawn, he only gives drawings of the location of the mosaics, which indicate that it was a villa with corner projections . In the center there was a large mosaic, the one found in 1712, and smaller in the corner projections.

The mosaic found in 1712 is only known from various old drawings that contradict each other in detail. It consisted of two square fields with circles in the middle. In a circle was the representation of Bacchus . There were geometric patterns in the other circle. The whole mosaic was framed by a meander . The other four mosaics, on the other hand, were only decorated with geometric patterns. The mosaics probably date to the fourth century AD and belong to the Orpheus Group .

literature

  • Margerie Venables Taylor: The Roman Tessellated Pavement at Stonesfield, Oxon. In: Oxoniensia 6, 1941, pp. 1-8 ( PDF ).
  • David S. Neal, Stephen R. Cosh: Roman Mosaics of Britain. Volume IV: Western Britain. The Society of Antiquaries of London, London 2010, ISBN 978-0-85431-294-8 , pp. 258-266.

Coordinates: 51 ° 51 ′ 2.7 "  N , 1 ° 25 ′ 12.6"  W.