Wadeford Roman villa
Wadeford Roman villa was discovered by Combe St Nicholas and its hamlet Wadeford in Somerset: it was apparently a minor Romano British villa, built close to the valley floor of a small un-named river running through Wadeford.
The villa site is in a field on the right hand site on the road to Scrapton from Wadeford. It has never been thoroughly excavated, but remains and artefacts turned up over the years suggest a large villa based around a central courtyard and well furnished for a prosperous household.
The villa was first discovered in 1810, when two fine mosaic pavements were unearthed. One, measuring 6 feet by 8 feet, showed a geometrical pattern of conventional flowers in circles and octagons in yellow, red, blue and grey on a white ground, the whole being set in a border of plain red brick tessellation. The other pavement, six feet square, consisted of a central circular panel enclosed in two interlacing squares, which in their turn were contained by an octagon, while a square of meander pattern bordered the whole. Both these mosaics perished soon after 1810 through frost. In 1861 some excavations were made revealing five more pavements and a hypocaust.
Apart from the seven mosaic pavements, hypocaust tiles and painted wall plaster, significant quantities of pottery have been found, along with some Roman coins and a Bronze Age spearhead. The evidence suggests a 3rd century AD date for occupation.
Location
- Location map: 50°53’24"N, 2°59’2"W
- Streetmap: ST308105
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References
- National Heritage List 1006187: Wadeford Roman villa (Scheduled ancient monument entry)
- Wadeford Roman villa: Somerset Historic Environment Record