Archaeological evidence of a Roman villa in Ceredigion

[Krystal Coenen]

Archaeological evidence of a Roman villa in Ceredigion

Nov 14 2009 by Sally Williams, Western Mail
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THE discovery of a villa in Ceredigion suggests that Roman settlements may have spread deeper into Wales than previously thought.

Archeologists working for the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, in Aberystwyth, believe they have discovered first Roman villa in the county at Trawsgoed Roman fort, now buried beneath Trawsgoed estate.

Archaeologist Dr Toby Driver said it was a significant discovery, because Roman villas are unknown in that part of the country and very rare in south-west Wales.

“This is a hugely exciting discovery,” he said.

“South Wales has several Roman villas but out in Mid and West Wales, the land was still a ‘military zone’ for much of the Roman occupation.

“A Roman villa would have been like a wealthy country estate or a grand farm and would only have been established in peaceful countryside.

“So what a villa was doing out here in Mid/West Wales is still a mystery.”

[Krystal Coenen]

The villa was discovered when archaeologists surveyed a field using a magnetometer device, which scans for hidden structures beneath the soil. When the results were downloaded on to a computer, the telltale floor plan of a Roman villa was revealed.

“We were very surprised to see the buried floor plan of a substantial building on our computer screen,” he said.

“It has all the hallmarks of a classic Roman villa with three main rooms, two projecting wings and a corridor or veranda at the front.

“Its central portion measures 22m by 7.5m. Another rectangular room projects to the rear of the main block.

“The building has all the hallmarks of a small Roman villa of a type which flourished from the mid-second to the fourth century AD.

“If so, it lies well away from the main block of known Welsh villas in lowland Gwent and the Vale of Glamorgan with a thin spread into south Carmarthenshire and south Pembrokeshire.

“However, there are scattered but well-appointed villas occupying the upper Usk Valley and at Llys Brychan near Llangadog in the Tywi Valley, Carmarthenshire.

“But we will not know whether or not our building is definitely Roman until we excavate.”

[Krystal Coenen]

He said scant evidence of the villa was first revealed in August 1979 when Cambridge University aerial photographers spotted crop marks in a dry field at Abermagwr, showing part of a double-ditched enclosure.

Aerial photographs of the site taken by the Royal Commission in severe drought conditions in July 2006 revealed a far more complex structure.

And geophysical survey of the site this year showed just how sophisticated the site actually was. Dr Driver said: “Unusual markings in the dry summer of 2006 showed a great rectangular structure, and footings of a simple rectangular building, buried below fields near Trawsgoed Roman fort.

“It was initially thought to be a late Iron Age or Romano-British temenos – a sacred enclosure common in eastern Wales – but never before seen west of the Cambrian Mountains.

“But in 2009 David Hopewell of the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust was commissioned by the Royal Commission to undertake a geophysical survey of the complex and this dramatically altered the interpretation of the site.”

The story of the discovery of the Roman site will be broadcast on Hidden Histories, BBC2 Wales, on Tuesday at 7.30pm

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/11/14/archaeological-evidence-of-a-roman-villa-in-ceredigion-91466-25163969/