Archaeologists have identified what are believed to be two previously unknown Roman villas hidden underground in Britain.
Possible Roman remains were recorded during pioneering excavations at the 18th century Attingham Estate in Shropshire, West Midlands, England.
The land, which covers an area of around 1,600 hectares, is owned by the National Trust, the independent conservation charity which also commissioned the survey.
Today, the estate includes forests, parks, farmland and real estate. The area has attracted settlers for thousands of years because of its proximity to the confluence of two rivers and fertile farmland.
Previously found within the grounds of the estate are evidence of prehistoric human activity, Roman urban and rural settlements, Anglo-Saxon great halls and the evolution of agricultural systems from the Middle Ages to the late Middle Ages.
© Jenny Anderson
The latest geological survey is the largest ever commissioned by the Trust, using innovative scanning and mapping techniques to cover more than 1,000 hectares and shed new light on Attingham’s archaeological treasures.
Geological surveys allow researchers to use non-invasive techniques that don’t involve excavation or disturbing the ground to understand what’s underground where archaeological remains might be found.
“Attingham House has always been known to be a site of historical and archaeological importance and this has now been confirmed by the largest geological survey ever undertaken by the National Trust,” National Trust archaeologist Janine Young said in a press release.
“This new geological survey has revolutionised our knowledge by establishing a comprehensive ‘map’ of what lies beneath our feet, providing a fascinating picture of the estate’s hidden past and revealing significant previously unknown sites.”
Among the notable features uncovered during the survey were what experts believe to be two villas and the remains of a Roman roadside cemetery. The ruins are on the road from Wroxeter, one of the largest cities in Roman Britain, a settlement once roughly the size of Italy’s Pompeii.
Uroxeter was founded in the mid-1st century AD as a legionary fortress, and then the city was founded at the end of the 1st century. Today, the Roman settlement is very well preserved, having been little affected by subsequent occupation.
A villa was a noble country residence, the equivalent of a vast Roman country estate. Villas are not uncommon throughout Britain, but only six are known to exist today in Shropshire.
Not much is known about the villa identified in the survey, with only a rough layout of the building having been released, but the building is recognisable from the regularity and traces of the division of internal rooms, not to mention its proximity to the road leading out of Wroxeter.
Roman villas like these in Britain were usually heated by a hypocaust, an ancient underfloor heating system, often had their own baths and were decorated with painted stucco and mosaic floors.
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