Villa Rustica (Tockington Park)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Villa Rustica in Tockington Park is a former Roman manor house ( villa rustica ) on the parish of Tockington , a village in South Gloucestershire , county of Gloucestershire , in south-west England .

The archaeological site is now in Tockington Park north of Bristol . In ancient times, the villa was around 13 kilometers northeast of the Roman city of Aquae Sulis (today's Bath ) in the Roman province of Britannia prima ( Britain ).

The remains of the villa have been known since around 1780. Systematic excavations did not take place until 1887 to 1888, after a wall was built on the site in 1884 and a mosaic was discovered. Only parts of the villa could be excavated as it is partly under a modern farmhouse. The excavations were carried out by the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society . Further excavations took place in 1997. Today no remains are visible above ground.

During the excavations, various buildings were found that were grouped around a courtyard. The house in the north is mostly under a modern house, but there are mosaics and hypocausts here . Some rooms seem to have served as a bathroom. The western buildings are also partly under a modern building. Several mosaics were found. The east side towards the courtyard once had a portico. The building in the south was initially probably a stable, but was then converted into a residential building. In the course of this construction work, this building received a portico on the north side and was also equipped with mosaics. Most of the villa's mosaics date to the middle of the fourth century AD. There were remains of wall paintings.

literature

  • John Maclean: Manor of Tockington, and the Roman Villa , in: Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 12 (1887–88), pp. 159–169 ( PDF )
  • John Maclean: The Roman Villa, Tockington Park (Second Notice) , in: Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 13 (1888–89), pp. 196–202 ( PDF )
  • Paul Masser, Bridget McGill: Excavations of Romano-British Sites at Tockington Park Farm and Westerleigh, South Gloucestershire, in 1997, in: Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 122, 2004, pp. 95–116 ( PDF )
  • Stephen R. Cosh, David S. Neal: Roman Mosaics of Britain, Volume IV, Western Britain , The Society of Antiquaries of London, London 2010, ISBN 978-0-85431-294-8 , pp. 190-195.

Coordinates: 51 ° 34 ′ 6.7 ″  N , 2 ° 32 ′ 21.1 ″  W.