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MONUMENT NO. 245181

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Roman villa (1st-4th century) with a central building of tripartite plan in final form and associated buildings, pits, enclosures, roads and linear features visible as cropmarks. Excavation around the central building in 1920 revealed inhumations, coins, including Iron Age coin, corn ovens etc. Aerial photographic survey has revealed that the excavated buildings are part of a more extensive complex of buildings and fields arranged alongside a paved road.

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(SU 78498552) Roman Villa (R) (Site of) (NAT) (1)

A Romano-British homestead built before the mid-1st century and
occupied until the end of the 4th, comprising four buildings
with an enclosure wall. (See plan. Siting description
approximates to symbol on 0S 6"). The principal dwelling
house, 92 x 82 ft, was of the double corridor type; the large
number of furnaces found suggest that the establishment was
engaged in corn production on a large scale. Three adult and
97 infant burials were discovered; and some 800 coins
(including a hoard) ranged from Claudius I (41-54) to Arcadius
(383-408) in addition to one Iron Age coin. Other finds
included much pottery (including terra sigillata) ornaments, animal bones etc. (2)

Finds are on display at Aylesbury Museum. (3)

SU 785855 The earliest house erected in the mid-1st century
was possibly of only four rooms. In its final form it was a
tripartite villa standing within an enclosure. Within the
yard were two 'basilican' buildings, a third small outhouse
(possibly a granary) and more than a dozen corn-ovens. (4)

(SU 78398554) No ground trace in an area of crop located at the
exposed south end of a broad valley about 300.0m from the
River Thames. A reconstructed portion of tesselated pavement from the villa, (1920 excavation) is housed in the Old Hambleden Museum (SU 78858618). Villa site plotted at 1:2500 from A Cocks excavation plan. (5)

"7885. SU 78 NE. Area centred SU785856. HAMBLEDEN.
Complex of enclosures, pits and linear feature. To W Roman villa (40m x 30m) and parts of two associated rectangular buildings. To E at 786855 further linear features or enclosures, NMR 70 SU 7885/3,5" (6)

Hambleden villa. Photographed from air and planned on ground in summer 1976. (7)

Aerial photographic mapping in 1993 revealed that the buildings excavated by Cocks (described in authorities 1-4) are part of an extensive complex of buildings and fields arranged alongside a paved road. It seems likely that this was more than a villa complex: traces of at least 21 buildings have been recorded, all with stone foundations. The site lies immediately to the W of, and is probably associated with, another extensive Roman roadside settlement and field system (SU 78 NE 48) at the S end of a small valley, and both sites ate 350m-400m from the River Thames. Another villa is located 750m to the SE at Mill End (SU 78 SE 4).

The excavated buildings, including the main villa (SU 7839 8555; Morph No. TG.363.5.4) and two barns or workshops (SU 7842 8548; Morph No. TG.363.5.5 and SU 7844 8559; Morph No. TG.363.5.6), one with an annex (SU 7843 8558; Morph No. TG.363.5.7), are located to the S of a paved road (SU 7835 8563; Morph No. TG.363.5.1) which runs E-W for c.450m. The building with the annex lies immediately adjacent to the road, with traces of at least four further buildings being recorded to the E on both sides of the road (group centred at SU 7851 8558; Morph Nos. TG.363.5.22-23, TG.363.5.27-28).

An ordered group of buildings appears c.300m to the W of the villa, on both sides of the road (group centred at SU 7825 8568; Morph No. TG.363.5.9-20). This group appears to be separated from the villa buildings by a rather fragmentary possible boundary ditch (SU 7831 8563; Morph No. TG.363.5.24 and SU 7829 8556; Morph No. TG.363.5.25).

About 100m W of the end of the paved road a further large building, possibly aisled (SU 7802 8569; Morph No. TG.363.5.30) and an adjacent small building or possible annex (SU 7800 8568; Morph No. TG.363.19.1) were recorded from very poor air photographs.

Traces of a possible N-S track, including a paved section, were recorded to the W of the complex (SU 7812 8554; Morph No. TG.363.5.2 and SU 7818 8543; Morph No. TG.363.5.3).

A small field system was recorded to the N of the E-W road, opposite the main villa buildings (SU 7846 8568; Morph No. TG.363.5.29).

This description is based on data from the RCHME MORPH2 database.
(8)

SOURCE TEXT

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

Leicester archaeology monographsNo.1 (1993) - BU 37 no.1 Page(s)27

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1960

( 2) Society of Antiquaries of London Archaeologia : or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity

1920-21 Excavation report plan photos FIgs (A H Cocks) 71 Page(s)141-198

( 3) Field Investigators Comments

C F Wardale/27-APR-1960/Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator

( 4) Royal Archaeological Institute The Archaeological Journal

1967 (K Branigan) 124 Page(s)152

( 5) Field Investigators Comments

J R Linge/12-AUG-1974/Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator

( 6) by Timothy Gates 1975 The Middle Thames Valley : an archaeological survey of the river gravels

Berkshire Archaeological Committee Publication no.1 Page(s)42

(7) Council for British Archaeology Group 9: South Midlands archaeology newsletter

6, 1976 Page(s)19

(8) RCHME/EH Aerial Photographers Comment

Cathy Stoertz/24-MAR-1993/RCHME: Thames Valley NMP

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