Villa Rustica (Whittington Court)

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The Villa Rustica at Whittington Court is a former Roman manor ( villa rustica ) on the district of Sandhurst in the county of Gloucestershire , in south-west England .

The villa is on a slope east of Whittington Brook , a stream. In ancient times it was in the Roman province of Britannia ( Britannia , since the fourth century Britannia prima ) about 15 kilometers north of Corinium Dobunnorum , the modern Cirencester , the provincial capital in the fourth century AD.

In 1947, mosaic stones were found in rabbits' burrows that drew attention to ancient remains on site. Excavations took place between 1948 and 1950. Only part of the villa complex was excavated.

Three construction phases could be distinguished. The remains of a small bath come from the second century. The associated residential wing was not located. In the second quarter of the fourth century the bathroom was integrated into a villa. This villa was roughly square with a portico on the southeast side. The portico was flanked by corner projections . The southern one had an apse . Most of the rooms received geometric mosaics in this phase. A little later, in a third phase, the bathroom was converted into a kitchen and living space. A special feature of this phase is a single free-standing room that was connected to the rest of the villa by a corridor. Numerous rooms had hypocausts .

The villa was in use until the early fifth century. There are finds that attest to the presence of Anglo-Saxons . The site of the villa was also inhabited in the Middle Ages. Most of the coins found on site date back to the fourth century.

literature

  • Helen Evangeline O'Neil: Whittington Court Roman Villa, Whittington, Gloucestershire - a report on the excavations undertaken from 1948 to 1951. In: Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society , 71 (1952), pp. 18-87 ( 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. 197-201.

Coordinates: 51 ° 54 '59.7 "  N , 2 ° 14' 9.6"  W.