More information : At SU03927963, Tockenham, tesserae, tile fragments, and pottery was
found. Devizes Museum Acc No 1974.1.(1)
Geophysical survey of the site has revealed the walls, rooms and corridors of a building interpreted as a multi-phase Romano-British farmyard villa and associated structures. To the north east of the surveyed area, a well-defined domestic range includes a large, rectangular apsidal ended room interpreted as a dining room. To the south east of this, a series of smaller rooms are arranged around a courtyard with an elaborate octagonal entrance structure. To the west of the villa complex further linear features are interpreted as field boundaries or garden features associated with the building. There are several large pits and the probable traces of some outbuildings.
Partial excavation by the Time Team in 1994 has revealed that the boundary to the south east consists of a ditch 4 metres wide and 1.1 metres deep. To the north of the complex, a linear earthwork running south west to north east is overlain by traces of medieval ridge and furrow and is interpreted as a field boundary contemporary with the villa. Fieldwalking has resulted in a dense scatter of pottery concentrated on the east side of the villa, with an even distribution of prehistoric worked flint. The pottery dates from the 2nd to 4th century and provides a likely date for the occupation of the complex.
A stone figure of a household god set into the wall of Tockenham church (SU 07 NW ??) and a stone carved water spout in the form of a fish uncovered close to the site are thought to have been associated with the villa. The villa complex is scheduled. (3)
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