Monument record MDO6049 - Roman Villa, Shapwick

Ploughing and limited excavation have uncovered the site of a Roman building, roof and flue tiles, 2nd-4th century AD pottery, tesserae and painted wall plaster were recovered, possibly the site of a villa.

(SY 947021) Ploughing in a field SW of the fort (MDO6031) uncovered three areas of building debris including roof and flue tiles, tesserae and 2nd-4th century AD pottery. Excavation uncovered robber trenches, more tesserae, pottery, painted wall plaster and evidence for iron working. (1-2)

DO 26 Listed as the possible site of a Roman villa. (3)

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1991, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1990, 117 (Serial). SDO90.

The Roman fort at Shapwick was identified following the examination of aerial photographs taken by J Bowden in 1975 and 1976. (Field 1976,280) These photographs NMR ST9402/3-6 show details of many other crop-marks in the vicinity of the fort. They have been interpreted as settlement features dating to the Iron Age and early Romano-British periods (Bowden 1990,40).
In September 1990 the field south-west of the crop marks was examined after ploughing and three discrete scatter of building debris were identified consisting numerous flint nodules with occasional Purbeck limestone and heathstone lumps. Amongst the debris, roof and box flue tile fragments were found also sherds of Samian, Black Burnished, New Forest and Oxford ware pottery dating from 2nd – 4th centuries. Part of a greensand rotary quern was found and the head of a marble female figurine. A scatter of tesserae included heathstone, clay, mudstone, Purbeck and Chilmark limestone fragments.
To the south-east of the Shapwick road Romano-British occupation material was found immediately south-west of the fort rampart. This was associated with slag indicating metal working in the vicinity.
The settlement site lies on a gentle south slope north-east of the Dorchester Roman road crossing of the River Stour. From this position the hillforts of Spettisbury and Badbury are visible. The evidence from aerial photography and field walking indicates that an Iron Age settlement became the site of a fort following the Roman conquest. The fort was probably abandoned after a short occupation and the Roman road to Dorchester was built across it. The Settlement continued to develop around the road and the fort site. The presence of tesserae and box flue tiles together with the imported figurine head indicate that by the 4th century at least one of the building was occupied by an individual for some status. It seems likely that Shapwick village represents settlement continuity from the Roman Period.

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1992, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1991, 172-173 (Serial). SDO91.

This site was identified following the ploughing of the field in October 1990. A small evaluation excavation was carried out in August 1991 to determine the survival of deposits.
Two trenches 30m long and 2m wide were excavated parallel to each other, 110 m apart and aligned with the south-east field boundary. Both crossed concentrations of building debris and the north-east trench was centred on a scatter of tesserae. The plough soil was 0.2-0.24m deep and the finds within it were abraded indicating that they had been disturbed by the plough on numerous occasions. Both trenches crossed a low ridge and plough damage was most severe on the crest ridge. An abandonment silt up to 0.3 m deep survived here and contained occasional sherds of medieval pottery mixed with Romano-British material. This lay above building debris of the 2nd-4th centuries.
In trench A the flint footings of a wall, 0.6m wide, were revealed. A nest of Black Burnished ware bowls, truncated by the plough, had been buried on the north-east side of the wall.
Further south west in trench A were shallow trenches 0.5 m wide and 0.2m deep, which converged to form a right angle. They were packed with large blocks of chalk rubble mixed with occasional fragments of Romano-British pottery. The south-western one cut a large Romano-British coarse-ware bowl, 0.6m diameter, which had been set in the ground and later truncated by the plough.
At the south-west end of the trench A part of a pit was revealed which was 3m wide and 2m deep. It contained numerous large fragments of Black Burnished ware of late 2nd-early 3rd century date and also a large quantity of smithing slag.
In trench B, at the north-east end, was a robber trench for another flint wall. This cut a deposit of tesserae and painted plaster, including fragments of red, blue, yellow and black designs.
Numerous large fragments of late 4th century pottery were recovered at the opposite end of the trench. Below this was a gravel surface which covered the top of a pit which was not excavated.
The evidence indicates that the site was extensively robbed in the medieval period. The finds confirm that the occupants of the building in the vicinity of trench B lived in some style. Industrial activity is indicated by the presence of slag in the vicinity of trench A but numerous tesserae were also found.

<3> Scott, E, 1993, A Gazetteer of Roman villas in Britain, 54 (Bibliographic reference). SWX1795.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1066560 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Mar 26 2024 11:47AM