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A Roman mosaic thought to be the most westerly example of the polychrome style yet found in Britain is among the discoveries emerging from a large Roman villa complex near Halberton in Devon.
Excavations by the SHARE project (Saving Halberton’s Ancient Roman Environment), led by University of Exeter archaeologists in partnership with Devon County Council, Tiverton Archaeology Group, the Sampford Peverell Society, and Cotswold Archaeology, have been running on the site since April, after securing a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant (see CA 432). The team initially opened two trial trenches based on the results of fieldwalking and geophysical survey, and these revealed the robbed-out foundations of two buildings located outside the previously identified main villa. Other finds from this first phase included fragments of painted plaster, as well as a tank-like structure made of opus signinum, a waterproof concrete that was used in Roman baths, aqueducts, cisterns, and other features containing water.
Following these discoveries, the project returned to the site in May to carry out a large-scale excavation. The team (which includes archaeology students from the University of Exeter) opened two big trenches: one sited over the main villa range and the other over the ancillary buildings that had been identified during trial trenching. Over the course of four weeks, the students uncovered the full layout of the villa building which, analysis of its remains indicates, began as a modest rectangular structure with projecting wings at either end. Over time, however, it was extended several times, with additional rooms added to both the north and south ends, as well as the construction of an entrance porch.
What of the mosaic, whose discovery first fuelled the SHARE project? While it only survives in part, the central roundel with a flower motif is relatively well preserved (above). It appears to have been located in a small room of the villa, perhaps a dining or reception space. With the project now in its community-excavation phase, local volunteers are helping to fully uncover the mosaic and further investigate the villa.
Meanwhile, additional work on the ancillary buildings has revealed that the opus signinum tank was originally square, but had at some point been remodelled to form a rectangular pool. The team believe this was probably a plunge bath. A second tank found nearby, which has surviving steps, supports interpretations that this building was a bathhouse. Two adjacent rooms seem to have contained hypocausts, although the full phasing of this complex building is still to be unpicked. The other outbuilding appears to be a long stone structure that runs beyond the edges of the current trench. It is thought that this might have been an agricultural or storage building. A small structure with a cobbled floor had been added to its front at some point, perhaps during the post-Roman period. This area has produced quantities of animal bone, particularly worked antler – perhaps a sign that this was a zone used for craft or butchery. Some large ovens or furnaces within the building suggest that metalworking may have been taking place here, too.
It is hoped that, as the excavation continues into the summer, more details will emerge.
Text: Kathryn Krakowka / Image: Cotswold Archaeology
