More information : [ST 35453953](4) A Roman pavement, found in a field at Bawdrip 'some years ago', is recorded in 1689 in a letter to John Aubrey from the Rev. A. Paschall. In 1827 Stradling (2), refers to a villa that had just been found on the south side of the Polden Hills. Flue tiles, pottery and a bluish-green bead were mentioned, the latter now in the Stradling Collection, Taunton Museum. Stradling (3) refers to the site as Churchie Bushes but there is no field of that name in Bawdrip Parish. In 1956 T.J. Miles and V.J. Smith made a search for the site and found Roman flue tiles and foundations in Lower Piece field which had been ploughed. (1-3)
Excavations in 1956 in this field and the adjacent Higher Piece, revealed the foundations of two buildings. The easterly building overlaid an Iron Age type hut defined by a V-shaped trench, 35 feet in diameter, associated with pottery dated 43-80 A.D. including a 'Durotrigian' ribbed bowl. The second building contained two corn drying kilns and a storage barn of 3rd cent. A.D. coins, pottery etc. suggested 1st to 4th cent. occupation.
[See AO/LP/56/240 Plan of Excavations] (4)
The site of the Roman buildings occupies an area of natural terracing on the side of an otherwise steep south facing slope. At present the field is under pasture and no Roman material is visible. The bead from the Stradling collection is in Taunton Museum but has not been catalogued. Bridgwater Museum have some Roman material from the 1956 excavations (Acc. No. 60.26.) (5)
(ST 354396) A limestone slab from the site has been interpreted by TWJ Solley as a class R side table. (6)
The slab was located in the floor of one of the buildings in a 2nd century AD context. It has slight beading on the upper surface with carved ornament on the edges. (H 0.09m; W 0.72m; D 0.38m). (7)
SO 1 Listed as the possible site of a Roman villa. (8) |