- North Leigh Roman Villa
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Coordinates: 51°50′10″N 1°25′34″W / 51.8361°N 1.4261°W
North Leigh Roman Villa 
North Leigh Roman Villa
North Leigh Roman Villa
North Leigh Roman Villa shown within OxfordshireOS grid reference SP396153 List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire North Leigh Roman Villa was a Roman courtyard villa in the Evenlode Valley about 0.5 miles (800 m) north of the hamlet of East End in North Leigh civil parish in Oxfordshire. It is in the care of English Heritage and is open to the public.[1]
Contents
Excavations
The architect Henry Hakewill excavated the ruins in 1813–16.[2] Professor Francis Haverfield conducted further excavations in 1910.[2] Aerial archaeology in 1943 photographed the previously unknown plan of the southwest wing.[3] Excavations for the Ministry of Public Building and Works in 1958 revealed several phases of occupation and development, starting with Iron Age postholes indicating that the first buildings on the site were wooden.[4] The ruins were further excavated in the 1970s.[2]
History
The villa was built in the 1st century, altered and enlarged several times, reached its greatest wealth and extent in the first half of the 4th century and was abandoned early in the 5th century. In its 4th century form the villa had 60 rooms, including a Roman bathhouse. A few of the rooms have the remains of tesselated floors, notable among which is a 3rd century mosaic in what is believed to have been the dining room. This floor is now protected by a purpose built shed.[1]
References
- ^ a b "North Leigh Roman Villa". Days Out. English Heritage. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/north-leigh-roman-villa/. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
- ^ a b c "Site Name: North Leigh Roman Villa". Oxfordshire's Historic Archives. Ashmolean Museum. http://www.ashmolean.org/ash/amps/oha/SitePages/NorthLeigh.html. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
- ^ Leeds & Atkinson, 1943, pages 197–198
- ^ Case, 1958, pages 133–134
Further reading
- Hakewill, Henry (1823). An account of the Roman villa discovered at Northleigh Oxfordshire in the years 1813, 1814, 1815, 1816.
- Crossley, Alan; Elrington, C.R. (eds.); Baggs, A.P.; Blair, W.J.; Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Cooper, Janet; Day, C.J. et al. (1990). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock. Victoria County History. pp. 213–238.
- Case, H. (1958). "Notes and News: Archaeological Notes". Oxoniensia (Oxford Architectural and Historical Society) XXIII: 133–134.
- Leeds, E.T.; Atkinson, R.J.C (1943). "Notes and News: Archaeological Notes". Oxoniensia (Oxford Architectural and Historical Society) VIII-IX: 197, 198.
- Morrison, M.E.S. (1959). "Carbonized cereals from the Roman villa of North Leigh, Oxon.". Oxoniensia (Oxford Architectural and Historical Society) XXIV: 13–21.
- Page, W.H., ed (1907). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 2. Victoria County History. Archibald Constable & Co. pp. 316–318.
- Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). Oxfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 721. ISBN 0 14 071045 0.
External links
- North Leigh Roman Villa, English Heritage
- North Leigh Roman Villa, at Pastscape
Villas in Roman Britain Borough Hill • Bignor • Brading • Chedworth • Crofton • Fishbourne • Gadebridge • Great Witcombe • Kings Weston • Llantwit Major • Littlecote • Low Ham • Lullingstone • Newport • North Leigh • Piddington • Rockbourne • Woodchester
See also: List of Roman places in Britain 
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