Monument record 9191/1/6 - C3rd Enclosure Ditch & Bank for the Late Roman Villa

{1} A section was excavated across a possible ditch with an east-west alignment to the north west of the villa range, which had been previously identified by geophysical survey, to ascertain whether the feature was a perimeter barrier enclosing the villa. The nearby Horestone Brook Roman villa certainly had an enclosure delineated by a bank and ditch and it would not be unreasonable to expect such a feature to be a diagnostic characteristic of villa classification in the area.
The excavated section revealed the depth of the ditch to be 2m and the width to be over 4m. In addition on the south side of the ditch was a bank which survived to height of 1m. The alignment and location of the bank and ditch strongly suggest the existence of an enclosure surrounding the villa. Unfortunately no dating evidence was recovered from the fill of the ditch and therefore it is impossible to prove the hypotheses beyond all doubt at this stage. The underlying reasons for constructing a bank and ditched enclosure around the principal buildings was not necessarily defensive but to indicate clearly the division between domestic and agricultural aspects of the estate and also to restrict the access of wild animals.

{2} The site was totally reorganised in the late 3rd century AD with the construction of a large 2 hectare bank and ditched compound within which a winged corridor villa and bath house were erected.

<1> Young S. et al, 2000 (circa), Whitehall Farm Roman Villa and Landscape Project, Fieldwork: Summer Excavations 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 checked) (Project Design). SNN109244.

Record last edited

Feb 3 2014 3:32PM