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The Roman villa at Wingham lies under the field known
as the Vineyard behind Wingham Court (N.G.R.
TR 612457). It was discovered by George Dowker P.G.S who
carried out excavations during 1881 and 1882. His report was published
in two parts in Archceologia
Cantiana. xiv (1882), pp.134-9, and xv
(1883) 3pp. 51-7. Permission for the digs was granted by the
tenant at that time, Mr. John Robinson.
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The
site was typical for a Roman villa being sheltered from the east and
north winds, open to the south-west and having a stream of clean
water running by, The stream has its source at a spring in Wingham
Well and goes on to join the River Stour.
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In 1966, Viscount Hawarden invited
Frank
Jenkins, M.A., Ph.D., F.S.A. re-excavate the site. His
initial report appeared in one hundredth volume of Archceologia
Cantiana. c pp.87-99
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Dowker's
Excavation |
| The first traces of the villa
came to light on July 22nd 1881. Close to the western edge of the
field a bath with internal measurements of 8 ft. 4 in.
east to west, and 6 ft. 5 in. The south wall stood to a height of 2 ft
8 inches and was 2 ft thick. The other walls were 18 inches thick. |
| A number of rooms
were identified |
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Room 1 - The floor and the south, west and part of the
east wall were covered with grey and white tesserae to form a mosaic.
A drain led through the south west corner of the wall |
| Room 2; To the north steps led to a second
room with a floor 13 inches above the floor of the bath and
measuring 9 ft. 9 in. east to west by 10 ft. 10 in. north to south.
Tessellated with "... a pattern of
alternate large diamonds and small squares, with a banded border in
dark grey and white ..." The flint walls
were 2 ft thick. A drain led form the south west corner and two
other rooms lie to the north and to the east. |
| Room 3. The northern room measured 11 ft 4 in by 11
ft 11 inches and was tessellated with a pattern having a central
labyrinth surrounded by a margin of bands of alternating black and
white. The walls had been destroyed to the foundations. |
| Room 4. The eastern room had a concrete
floor with masonry blocks forming a hypo-caust that supported
a floor opus-signium. Much
of the suspended floor had fallen , but the
tessellated pattern appeared to continue from the adjoining room.
The room measured 11 ft. 2 in. North to south and at least 28 ft East
to west. |
| In the earth among the
rubble of the fallen floor were found "...Upchurch pottery, a coin of Antoninus Pius with a
hole bored through it as if to suspend it by, and a minimus of Constantine."
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Jenkins'
Excavation |
| Frank Jenkins excavation ascertained
three main
factors: |
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1. |
The building was not a villa, but a complete bath house forming part of
a villa complex |
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2. |
The portions of the building that have been excavated were constructed
in several stages |
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3. |
The original construction probably took place in the late 1st or early
second century |
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| The plan below is copied from (Archceologia
Cantiana. c p. 89). The rooms described by Dowker are 8 (Room 1),
3 (Room 2), 2 (Room 3) and 4, (Room 4) |
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| (1) |
The north corridor |
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The 5ft. 6 in. wide,
corridor was entered from outside through a doorway in the
north wall and may have ran the length of the entire villa.
The floor of was of opus
signium. |
| (2) |
The apodyterium - (Dowker's Room 3) |
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This disrobing room, was mostly destroyed.
It measured 5 ft. 6 in. north
to south and 16 ft. 6 in. east to west. |
| (3) |
The frigidarium - (Dowker's
Room 2) |
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Measuring 11 ft. 4 in. by 11
ft. 10 in with walls 2 ft. thick and built of yellow tiles bonded with mortar.
Evidence of a drain-pipe was found in the south-west corner. |
| (4) |
The tepidarium
- (Dowker's Room 4) |
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The coolest of the heated rooms. The walls were
built of the same yellow tiles as the hypocaust over which the room
stood, but little remains of them. Warm air would have passed into the
hypocaust from the one below the adjoining room via an arched doorway.
Heat was allowed to travel up the walls through vents built of square
hollow bricks, which were hidden by plaster. The hypocaust
measured
11 ft. 4 in. sq and the tepidarium
above it (with its floor supported on pilae) 10 ft. 4 in. sq. |
| (5) |
The caldarium
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Dry air kept hotter than that of the tepidarium. 10
ft. 4 in. sq it stood above a hypocaust measuring 11 ft. 4 in. sq. The walls
and floor had been destroyed, but imprints of the underlying pilae
were found. |
| (6) |
The hot tank
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It is assumed that
the hot tank holding water for the bath-house stood above the furnace which measured 4 ft. long west to east, and 11 ft. 4 in. wide. |
| (7) |
The stoking-room
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This appeared to be entirely
below ground level but provided adequate space for the stokers
to work being 16 ft. long west to east and 11 ft. 4
in. wide. Dry fuel would also have been stored there. Jenkins found
evidence of alterations to the hypocaust system, and believes the debris
that Dowker (Archceologia
Cantiana., xv
(1883), p. 352) found filling the room, may have been deposited during later
reconstruction of the building. |
| (8) |
The cold bath
- (Dowker's Room 1) |
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See above |
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| Summary |
| It is clear that the villa was high status. This is not
surprising as several Roman roads converged here and the estuary of the
Wingham River would have given easy access to the sea and trade routes.
Nearby is Wingham Well, whose springs not only supplied fresh water for
the occupants of the villa, but would also have had religious
significance. There is further evidence of Roman occupation in the area
and more may remain , as yet undiscovered. |
| The information
above is taken from the first reports of the two archaeologists.
You can learn more by reading their accounts in volumes of Archceologia
Cantiana. Other reports on the history Wingham can also be found in
its pages. A copies of all volumes published to date are held in the
Canterbury Public Library |
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