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MONUMENT NO. 327595

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A Mid 2nd to 4th century Romano British temple was discovered at Chedworth in 1864. It still stands 7' high including the foundations. Altars, coins and glass tesserae in Chedworth Museum came from the site. Scheduled.

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(SP 06121329) Romano-British Temple (R) (Site of) (NAT) (1)

The RB temple at Chedworth was examined and recognised as such by
J Farrer, the excavator of Chedworth villa, in 1864, when the large
stone platform was revaled during work in an adjoining quarry.
Excavations by St Clair Baddeley in 1926 showed the structure to
measure 41ft by 39 1/2ft internally. Before clearance the site was
strewn with RB debris, including hexagonal roof tiles,
occasionally with their iron nails. Numerous hypocaust tiles from
the SW corner suggested that a small dwelling, possibly that of a
priest, may have been attached to the building. Altars preserved
in Chedworth villa museum probably came from the temple as did
coins, tesserae of glass and a stone carven niche. A sherd of
2nd century Samian ware found at the temple in 1864 by Capt Bell
is also in the museum, as is a 3rd century bronze brooch
probably from the site. (2-5)

The temple, which dates from mid 2nd to the 4th century still
stands some 7ft high including the foundations. The westward
extension of the south wall for a distance of 5 1/2ft could
represent a buttress to the podium or the remains of an annexe. (6)

The remains of the Romano-British temple are situated in woodland
at SP 06121328 upon a gentle north-facing slope. The remains
comprise the SW and SE corners of a rectangular building, measuring
internally, 16.5m east-west by approximately, 16.0m north-south.
The walling is constructed of squared blocks of local limestone,
up to 1.0m in length, and 0.8m in width, 0.3m in height, bonded
with pink mortar and stands to a maximum height of 0.8m above
present ground level.

No westward extension of the south wall as described by Lewis (5)
could be recognised.

The interior of the site, which is overgrown with bushes, is strewn
with Romano-British building debris and 10.0m north of the destroyed
NW corner upon the opposite slope of the quarry is a concentration
of Roman roofing tile fragments.

Finds from the site are on display in Chedworth Roman Villa Museum.

Site surveyed at 1:2500 on AM. (7)

Webster has advanced the theory that both the temple and the nearby villa [SP 01 SE 9] formed parts of a larger religious complex. This idea is disputed by King who argues that the overall plan of the villa compares satisfactorily with other undisputed villa sites in Britain. (8-9)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1955

( 2) National Museums of Antiquities of Scotland Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

(J Farrer) 6 - 1864-6 Page(s)282-3

( 3) Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society

(W St Clair Baddeley) 52 - 1930 Page(s)255-64

( 4) Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society

(E M Clifford) 60 - 1938 Page(s)301-3

( 5) The Antiquaries journal : journal of the Society of Antiquaries of London

5 - 1925 Page(s)282

( 6) by M J T Lewis 1966 Temples in Roman Britain

Cambridge classical studies (M J T Lewis) 1966 Page(s)17-18, 53

( 7) Field Investigators Comments

F1 ASP 24-MAR-77

( 8) Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society

(G Webster) 101- 1983 Page(s)5-20

( 9) Royal Archaeological Institute The Archaeological Journal

(A King) 145 - 1988 Page(s)413-14

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