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MONUMENT NO. 338045

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Site of a Roman villa indicated by finds of painted wall plaster, tesserae, roof tiles and glass, now destroyed by quarrying; a bath-house and a walled enclosure have been excavated .

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(SP 49679312) Roman coins and Pavement found 1770 (R) (1)

Finds of pavement in a field called "The Black Piece", (2). Foundations, tiles and covering slates have at various times been unearthed on this site, certainly a villa site (3). The finds in 1770 included two brass coins, one of Germanicus and the other of Constantine. (2-4)

The area was re-examined in 1923. Site of pavement confirmed at SP 49679312. Further flag pavement sited to SP 49819315. At SP 49709314 a rubbish tip was excavated and found to contain a great variety of pottery including Salopian, Belgic, Upchurch, Castor, New Forest and Samian ware of the 2nd to 4th centuries. The tip was composed mainly of building material however - the ruins of a "Roman building of some pretensions". The amount and variety of painted wall-plaster indicated the existence of a number of living rooms. Other building material comprised stone slates, roofing tiles, coarse tesserae, and broken glass. A quantity of molten lead was also recovered. (For other details, see annotated plan). All evidence points to the villa being centred at SP 49679312 and subsequently destroyed during quarrying. Early Saxon coins have been found in the field called "Black Piece" (Centred SP 496931). (5)

The only indication of the site is a faint scatter of mortar in a small allotment garden in the area of the mortar floor found in 1923. A selection of the finds is on display in Leicester Museum. (6)

Further finds have recently been made in the area. Field walking at SP 49669325, on the site of the Roman villa, produced a large number of tesserae made from tile and limestone. Surface finds of Roman building debris, coarse pottery and Samian ware came from an area disturbed by the quarry road, at SP 49669318. Finds from both areas are deposited in Leicester Museum (Acc Nos 34.1973 and 42.1973). Graphical material omitted. (7)

In 1974, 50 metres of the quarry approach road was cleaned up and a Roman wall with pitched stone foundations was traced for over 25 metres. (8)

In 1975, the wall was seen to turn to the north and run for over 50 metres and ending in a buttress and forming two sides of an enclosure. A quern was found here. Trenches in Black Piece Field revealed part of the plan of a bath suite along with voussoir shaped box-tiles and curved painted wall plaster. (9)

A Roman miniature votive axe was reported in Nichols as 'a small brazen celt'. (10)

LE 78 Listed as the site of a Roman villa. (11)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

6" 1904

( 2) General reference

History of Leicester Vol 4 (Nichols) Page(s)898

( 3) General reference

Select Views in Leicestershire Vol 2 (Throsby) Page(s)231

( 4) edited by William Page 1907 The Victoria history of the county of Leicester, volume one

The Victoria history of the counties of England Page(s)217

( 5) Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society

(AJ Pickering) 18, 1933-5 Page(s)163-76

( 6) Field Investigators Comments

F1 AC 14-SEP-53

( 7) Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society

(S Smith) 47, 1971-2 Page(s)74

( 8) Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society

(S Smith) 49, 1973-4 Page(s)62

( 9) Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society

(S Smith) 51, 1975-6 Page(s)59

(10) Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society

(P Liddle) 60, 1986 Page(s)85

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

Leicester archaeology monographsNo.1 (1993) - no.1 Page(s)115

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