Villa Rustica (Combley)

The Villa Rustica by Combley is a Roman manor ( Villa rustica ) within the English theme park "Robin Hill Adventure Park and Gardens" near Arreton on the Isle of Wight ( Vectis ).

Roman remains on the site of the villa were known as early as the middle of the 19th century. The villa was excavated in 1910/11. New excavations took place from 1968 to 1975. The main building of the villa probably dates from the late second century AD. There are remains of a previous building.

The villa consists of a three-aisled hall. In the western part, this is divided into three larger and one small room. It is certainly the actual living area of ​​the villa. In the far west there was a bathroom that was probably converted from a simple house into a bathroom. The bathroom appears quite large compared to the rest of the villa. Two rooms in the villa were decorated with mosaics . The mosaic in the main house shows geometric and stylized floral patterns. In the bathroom there was a mosaic with geometric patterns, but also the representation of two dolphins. There were other buildings in the vicinity of the villa, but they have not yet been excavated. According to the coin finds, the villa was abandoned around 350 AD.

literature

• David S. Neal, Stephen R. Cosh: Roman Mosaics of Britain, Volume III, South-East Britain , Part I, London 2009, ISBN 978-0-85431-289-4 , pp. 284-286.

Coordinates: 50 ° 41 ′ 17 "  N , 1 ° 14 ′ 22.9"  W.