Monument record 9191/0/14 - Possible Early Romano-British Strip House ('Proto Villa')

A building initially thought to be an aisled barn was found to be a substantial building predating the establishment of the villa.

{1} It was also possible to dig a trial trench in the field adjacent to the villa in order to investigate elements of the different field system. Excavation revealed an extensive metalled surface which may have been associated with a large barn which confirmed the geophysical findings. Dating these features from material deposits found in the fill may be possible but the possibility of environmental survival for sampling is yet unknown.
The metalled floor surface discovered in 2000 was investigated in 2001 in the hope of recovering its plan and some evidence of its chronology. At first it appeared that the floor belonged to a building which might have been contemporary with the development of the main villa range. The building could have provided accommodation for estate workers or have been used as a storage barn. It was also possible that the structure might have been an example of an aisled barn; a common building type that has often been identified further east in the Lower Nene Valley.
After preliminary examination and interpretation of the excavated evidence it can be demonstrated that the building is domestic in nature and can best be described as a proto-villa or strip house. These buildings or long houses always have a series of three or four interlocking rooms with access from an external veranda.
The construction of the building revealed it had no stone walls and that the metalled surface in fact represented the surviving floor levels. The building would have been rectangular (10m x 5m) most likely making use of vernacular building methods and materials but in a Romanised style. Its superstructure was probably based on large wooden beams laid on the ground surface into which posts and timber cross bracing would have been inserted while wattle and daub would have been utilised to fill any holes. The exterior of the building might well have been rendered and the roof would have been thatched. No internal partitions were recognised during the excavation although inside the structure was a hearth (10m x 5m).
The strip house is not contemporary with the villa and indeed seems to precede its construction. Although C2nd/C3rd residual pottery was discovered associated with the metalled surface the feature itself had been cut into by three pits with pottery of the mid to late C2nd suggesting the floor of the strip house could not have been laid after that date. Therefore the building must have been constructed before that date most likely at the end of the C1st or early C2nd. The destruction or demolition of the building at a relatively early date is further supported by the insertion of two ditches into the metalled surface of the strip house floor during the C3rd or C4th. In fact the larger of the two ditches is aligned along the long axis of the strip house and may well be part of the enclosure ditch to the villa complex. One other feature located in this area which is of interest and requires further investigation is a post pit which may be evidence of a veranda.

{2} Initially a Late Iron Age farm was replaced by an early attempt at Romanisation with the construction of a large rectangular building with an attached veranda and an associated ’barn’. This ‘proto villa’ was erected in the mid to late 1st century AD and continued into the early 2nd AD.

<1> Young S. et al, 2000 (circa), Whitehall Farm Roman Villa and Landscape Project, Fieldwork: Summer Excavations 2000+2001 (part checked) (Website). SNN107418.

<2> Young S., 2012, Project Design for Continuation of the Research Excavation & Archaeological Investigation at Whitehall Farm, Stowe Hill, Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire, p.6 (part checked0 (Project Design). SNN109244.

Record last edited

Feb 21 2024 11:38AM