Monument record MDO360 - Roman villa, East Hill, Bradford Abbas

Reports of surface finds (before 1878) of tesserae, pottery sherds and other material such as roof tiles led to discovery of stone-paved floors with a series of kilns, perhaps corn-drying ovens. The probable site of a Roman villa with evidence of Iron Age use of the area. First noted by Professor Buckman, subsequent work included surface collection over a number of years and some excavation, mainly by Mr C E Bean from the 1950s onwards. Excavations uncovered possible Roman corn drying ovens, a rectangular building, tesserae, pottery including samian, 3rd-4th century AD coins, bronze and shale bracelets and a bronze brooch. Large quantities of Iron Age and Roman material were recovered during excavation including a complete ‘Durotrigian’ pedestal bowl.

A Roman villa and five kilns were found on East Hill, south east of east farm, Bradford Abbas. There were significant amounts of Roman and Iron Age finds from the excavations, including large amounts of Roman roofing tiles and Roman pottery. The building is 82ft by 24ft (25m by 7m) with stone walls found along east side and possibly similar rising on the north side. Inside the building a flue, 38cm wide, was excavated in the south-east corner built parallel to the east wall, but not joined to it. 8ft of the flue had survived and was filled with ash. In the north-west corner of the building parts of the Keinton stone paving was still in position, but broken due to agricultural operations. The slabs were originally square and 1½in to 1¾in (3.8cm to 4.4cm) thick. Remains of Romano-British occupation were discovered in 1878 or before on East Farm, Bradford Abbas, when ploughing in a fifty-acre field, "on the north side of the hill to the east of Bradford, called East hill" yielded an abundance of finds. Excavations in the centre of the field by the occupier of the farm, Professor Buckman, revealed pieces of pavement with five "kilns" or "stoves" (probably corn-drying ovens), stone roofing tiles, rotary querns, crude pottery and a quantity of scattered tesserae. <1> In 1950 C E Bean found a large amount of roofing tiles and Roman pottery, including late 2nd century Samian forms at ST 59301513, on East Farm; a site which he equates with that discovered by Buckman. Although it lies on a southerly slope, Bean probably substantiated the identification locally, for he mentions speaking with farm labourers who knew of the corn-drying kilns being originally described as "bakehouses". By 1955 ploughing had revealed further Samian sherds, Iron Age "A" pottery, fragments of five greenstone axes and a 3rd century coin, also wall stones and flooring slabs. In 1958 excavations at ST 59331522 uncovered a rectangular stone-paved building some 82 feet by 24 feet, with finds including 19 3rd and 4th century coins, pottery of the same period, bracelets of bronze and Kimmeridge shale, a bronze brooch and a barbed and tanged flint arrowhead. Petrological reports on the five greenstone axes by S W Museums Survey (No's 950-954) indicate that one axe is Group I, a second Group VI (Great Langdale) and a third Group XVII. <2, 3, 5, 6> The field at ST 593151 was not investigated, due to crops, but appears to be the one excavated originally by Buckman. <4> DO 2 Listed as the possible site of a Roman villa. <8> A review of aerial photographs of the site did not positively identify any remains which relate to the villa. There are numerous cropmarks of archaeological and geological origin in the same field. The archaeological cropmarks indicate the presence of prehistoric and/or Roman enclosures and boundaries - see Monument Record 981296 for details. (8)

Record last edited

Sep 20 2022 11:15AM