Kings Weston Roman Villa

Last updated

Kings Weston Roman Villa
Kings Weston Roman Villa.jpg
The site of the villa
Bristol UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Kings Weston Roman Villa
Established1947
LocationLong Cross, Lawrence Weston, Bristol BS11 0LP, England
Coordinates 51°29′42″N2°40′22″W / 51.4950°N 2.6727°W / 51.4950; -2.6727
TypeRoman villa
Curator Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
Public transit accessBus
Website Kings Weston Roman Villa

Kings Weston Roman Villa is a Roman villa in Lawrence Weston in the north-west of Bristol (grid reference ST533775 ). The villa was discovered during the construction of the Lawrence Weston housing estate in 1947. Two distinct buildings (Eastern and Western) were discovered. The Eastern building was fully excavated (in 1948–50), the other lies mostly below Long Cross road. Finds from the site are now held in the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery.

Contents

At Kings Weston Roman Villa visitors can see the only Roman bath suite in Bristol and two original 3rd-century mosaic floors as well as discover Roman central heating. The villa is open for public for special events and on open days. At other times visitors can collect a key from Blaise Castle or Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. [1]

History

George C. Boon and John Clevedon Brown conducted the excavations of the Eastern building. In a hypocaust, underlying the mosaic floor of one of the wings, they discovered the body of a man of approximately fifty years of age, 5 feet (1.5 m) tall. Injuries to the skull and shoulder suggested that he had died violently. Coins of the Valentinian and Gratian periods led to a conclusion that the man may have died in a Viking raid in the latter part of the fourth or early fifth century AD. [2]

Villa mosaic Roman Villa Long Cross A.jpg
Villa mosaic

Two other bodies were found in the vicinity. Traces of decorated walls, mosaic floors, underfloor heating and bath suites were discovered. Based on the dating of coins and other evidence such as a foundation burial of a young pig, it was suggested that the site had been occupied since the third century AD. [2] The layout of the building, dominated by a large hall, relatively common in Britain and Germany, led to the hypotheses by archaeologist J. T. Smith that this type of building was used by an extended family group rather than a nuclear family. [3]

Notes

  1. "Kings Weston Roman Villa". Bristol Museums. Bristol City Council.
  2. 1 2 Boon, George C.; Brown, John (1993). "Kingsweston Villa Revisited: The East Wing Murder and other burials" (PDF). Transactions. III. Bristol: The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society: 73–83. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  3. Millett, Martin (1994). The Romanization of Britain (7 ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 199–200. ISBN   9780521428644.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lullingstone Roman Villa</span> Roman villa in Britain

Lullingstone Roman Villa is a villa built during the Roman occupation of Britain, situated in Lullingstone near the village of Eynsford in Kent, south-eastern England. The villa is located in the Darent Valley, along with six others, including those at Crofton, Crayford and Dartford. Constructed in the 1st century, perhaps around 80–90 AD, the house was repeatedly expanded and occupied until it was destroyed by fire in the 4th or 5th century. The villa was occupied over various periods within the Romano-British period, but after its destruction, it is only thought to have been reoccupied during the medieval period. The occupants were most likely wealthy Romans or native Britons who had adopted Roman customs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishbourne Roman Palace</span> Building in grid reference, United Kingdom

Fishbourne Roman Palace or Fishbourne Villa is in the village of Fishbourne, near Chichester in West Sussex. The palace is the largest Roman residence north of the Alps, and has an unusually early date of 75 AD, around thirty years after the Roman conquest of Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosaic</span> Image made from small colored tiles

A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly popular in the Ancient Roman world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Museum & Art Gallery</span> Museum in Bristol, UK

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture it is run by the Bristol City Council with no entrance fee. It holds designated museum status, granted by the national government to protect outstanding museums. The designated collections include: geology, Eastern art, and Bristol's history, including English delftware. In January 2012 it became one of sixteen Arts Council England Major Partner Museums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stobi</span> Archaeological site in Macedonia, ancient town of Paeonia

Stobi or Stoboi, was an ancient town of Paeonia, later conquered by Macedon, and finally turned into the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia Salutaris. It is located near Gradsko, North Macedonia, on the main road that leads from the Danube to the Aegean Sea and is considered by many to be the most famous archaeological site in North Macedonia. Stobi was built where the Erigon joins the Axios (Vardar), making it strategically important as a center for both trade and warfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chedworth Roman Villa</span> Roman villa near Chedworth, Gloucestershire, England

Chedworth Roman Villa is located near Chedworth, Gloucestershire, England and is a scheduled monument. It is one of the largest and most elaborate Roman villas so far discovered in Britain and one with the latest occupation beyond the Roman period. The villa was built in phases from the early 2nd century to the 5th century, with the 4th-century construction transforming the building into an elite dwelling arranged around three sides of a courtyard. The 4th-century building included a heated and furnished west wing containing a dining-room (triclinium) with a fine mosaic floor, as well as two separate bathing suites: one for damp-heat and one for dry-heat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Witcombe Roman Villa</span> Building in grid reference , United Kingdom

Great Witcombe Roman Villa was a villa built during the Roman occupation of Britain. It is located on a hillside at Great Witcombe, near Gloucester in the English county of Gloucestershire. It has been scheduled as an ancient monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockbourne Roman Villa</span> Roman courtyard villa in Hampshire, England

Rockbourne Roman Villa is a Roman courtyard villa excavated and put on public display in the village of Rockbourne in the English county of Hampshire. The villa was discovered in 1942 by a local farmer and excavated by A. T. Morley Hewitt over the next thirty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brading Roman Villa</span> Archaeological museum in Brading, England

Brading Roman Villa was a Roman courtyard villa which has been excavated and put on public display in Brading on the Isle of Wight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Littlecote Roman Villa</span> Building in Hungerford

Littlecote Roman Villa is an extensive and exceptional Roman villa, with associated religious complex, at Littlecote Park just over a mile west of Hungerford, Berkshire. It has been excavated and is on display to the public in the grounds of the estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low Ham Roman Villa</span>

The Low Ham Roman Villa was a Roman courtyard villa located near Low Ham in the civil parish of High Ham in the English county of Somerset. It is best known for the extraordinary figured mosaic depicting the story of Aeneas and Dido.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dion, Archaeological Museum</span> Archaeological museum in Central Macedonia, Greece.

The Archaeological Museum of Dion is a museum in Dion in the Pieria regional unit of Central Macedonia, Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newport Roman Villa</span> Building in England, UK

Newport Roman Villa was a Romano-British farmhouse constructed in 280 AD. It is located near to Newport, Isle of Wight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villa Armira</span>

Villa Armira, meaning "Reinforced Villa", is a 1st-century suburban Roman villa in southeastern Bulgaria, located in the proximity of Ivaylovgrad, Haskovo Province. Discovered in 1964 during reservoir construction, it is a primary historical attraction to the Ivaylovgrad area. It is classified as a monument of culture of national importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Leigh Roman Villa</span> Remains of Roman villa in Oxfordshire, England

North Leigh Roman Villa was a Roman courtyard villa in the Evenlode Valley about 0.5 miles (800 m) north of the hamlet of East End in North Leigh civil parish in Oxfordshire. It is a scheduled monument in the care of English Heritage and is open to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folkestone Roman Villa</span> Roman villa in Kent, England

Folkestone Roman Villa, also referred to as the East Bay Site, is a villa built during the Roman Occupation of Britain, and is located in East Wear Bay near the port town of Folkestone, in Kent, England. The villa is situated on a cliff top overlooking the English Channel, with views of the French coast at Boulogne on a clear day. It is situated near the start of the North Downs Trackway, and the area has been inhabited for thousands of years, with archeological finds in the area and at the villa site dating back to the Mesolithic and Neolithic ages. The villa was built around A. D. 75, and was almost certainly built within the confines of a preexisting Iron Age settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keynsham Roman Villa</span>

Keynsham Roman Villa refers to a cluster of villas built during the Roman occupation of Britain near Keynsham in Somerset, England. Two villas have been found, the larger of which is thought to be one of the grandest villas constructed in all of Britain. The sites have never been fully excavated, in part because portions of each are located underneath a cemetery, a major road, and the now shuttered Somerdale Chocolate Factory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vesunna Gallo-Roman Museum</span>

The Vesunna Gallo-Roman Museum is a museum of Gallo-Roman art and archaeology in the town of Périgueux, located in the French department of the Dordogne. The Gallo-Roman ruins are covered by a glass display that was constructed to protect a historical monument of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalton Parlours Roman villa</span> Roman building in West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Dalton Parlours Roman villa is a Roman villa and scheduled monument near Collingham, West Yorkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutland Roman villa</span> Roman villa in Rutland, England

The Rutland Roman villa is a Romano-British villa site in Rutland, England. The site was listed as a scheduled monument by Historic England on 23 November 2021. The villa includes the first example of a mosaic in Britain which depicts scenes from Homer's Iliad.