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MONUMENT NO. 208219

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Site of a Roman Villa in Stanton Wood Park. The site was excavated in 1910, when part of a room and a hypocaust were uncovered. Finds included pottery, coins, re-used columns and capitals, painted wall-plaster, tesserae and tiles. A further small excavation in 1939 found a bronze spoon, tiles and an iron door-latch. Some of the finds are in Devizes Museum. Ordnance Survey field investigation in 1976 noted that "Desultory excavations have occurred over a wide area, mostly by members of Swindon Archaeological Society on a dig and backfill basis".

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(ST 89607962) Roman Villa (R) (site of) [NAT]. (1)

A Roman villa, in Stanton Park Wood, was described as being
"a considerable villa covering large space". It was excavated in
1910 by AD Passmore and T G Henslow. Part of a room and a
hypocaust were uncovered and the reuse of coloumns and capitals
as building material suggested an earlier building. Finds
included painted wall-plaster, tesserae, tiles, samian and other
sherds and 14 coins. A small excavation in 1939 by A G Stenning
found a bronze spoon, tiles and an iron door-latch. Finds are in
Devizes museum and Stenning's possession. (2-5)

The walls and floors of the villa, which are still visible, have
been considerably damaged by the planting of trees. Surface
finds of 2nd - 4th century sherds, nails, plaster and tesserae
painted plaster were found south of the brook (4).
similar finds were made after ploughing. All finds are in
Devizes museum. (Accession No 49 1972). (6)

Stanton Park: Probable RB Settlement
ST89607963. Stanton Park Villa. ST 89707960. Building.
ST 89807940. Area of black soil with RB pottery.

ST 89657928. Dense distribution of RB pottery - raised platform. (7)

The published site is under dense undergrowth, precluding full
investigation, but no building remains were seen. Stanton
Park is mostly untrimmed conifer owned by the Forestry Commission,
extending across flat ground.

Desultory excavations have occurred over a wide area, mostly
by members of Swindon Arch Society on a dig and backfill basis.
In the vicinity of ST 89767956 small diggings have exposed
well preserved sub-surface walling 0.5 m high, 0.9 m wide. If
these exposures are linked the wall extends from W to E for about
50.0 m and then N for about 20.0 m. At ST 89507947 the ends of two
capped stone drains are exposed in an otherwise infilled
excavation. At ST 89717959 current work has exposed the S wall
of a building with an entrance way flanked by large limestone
blocks, outside it a cobbled paving and within a floor
incorporating slabs bedded at an angle. The finds of pottery
(7) in the field S of the wood are in an area now under crops,
though that a ST 89657928 is partly overlaid by a motorway.

The sites are indicated on the OS 25" for AO records; the
fragmentary nature of the excavations would provide no adequate
plan if surveyed in detail but it is clear that a settlement of
considerable area, possibly 300.0 m by 150.0 m; is beneath the
conifers and that only a small part was excavated by Passmore
and later by Stenning. (8)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1955

( 2) edited by R B Pugh and Elizabeth Crittall 1957 A history of Wiltshire: volume 1, part 1

The Victoria history of the counties of England Grinsell, LV. Archaeological Gazetteer Page(s)107

( 3) The Wiltshire archaeological and natural history magazine

38, 1913 Page(s)322

( 4) The Wiltshire archaeological and natural history magazine

41, 1920 Page(s)215

( 5) The Wiltshire archaeological and natural history magazine

45, 1930 Page(s)203

( 6) Council for British Archaeology : Group 12 (Wessex) & Group 13 (South West) : Archaeological review

Stone, MJ 7, 1972 Page(s)45

( 7) Externally held archive reference

Wiltshire Library and Museum Service Field Record Card 87 NE 300

( 8) Field Investigators Comments

F1 NVQ 27-APR-76

(9) by Eleanor Scott 1993 A gazetteer of Roman villas in Britain

Leicester archaeology monographsNo.1 (1993) - Site number WZ 154, 155 no.1 Page(s)207

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