Monument record 3278/1 - Easton Maudit Roman Villa

Site first identified through fieldwalking survey. Large amounts of Roman pottery and building material were found. Subsequent excavation over a number of seasons identified initial, early Roman, settlement comprising at least three roundhouses and a possible timber framed building. Subsequently a villa building was constructed in the mid 2nd century.

{1} Fieldwalking survey found a scatter of Roman pottery, stone, painted plaster and tesserae. A Roman brooch was found at a later date;

{3}A Roman villa was found at SP 895582 in Easton Maudit during field work. A lot of sherds, building stone, and one brooch were found. (Nothing visible on available APs).

{4} Minor rescue excavation by D.N.Hall 1988-90; threat of deep ploughing at Easton Lowe Farm now withdrawn; area 27m x 17m subject to excavation; sketch plan of walls & tesselated floors & pit; fragment of skull found on site;

{5}Excavation of the villa complex was undertaken by the Bozeat Historical and Archaeological Society over a number of seasons. Thick black spread earliest feature on the site - assumed to be a farmyard. Round house and possible post hole building (or fence?) may also have belonged to this phase of occupation. Precise details not possible to ascertain. An early round house was found beneath Roman villa - evidence suggests building was first accompanied by and then overlaid by stone yards. There was an early round house below the main villa building with clay walls; probable central hearth and clay floor. Two further round houses lay to the north and south of the later villa building and were probably constructed in the earlier 2nd century. The walls of both roundhouses were 1m or more wide and may have been two or three storeys high. The southern roundhouse had a porch and an inserted tesselated floor probably constructed in the late 3rd century.
Main corridor villa building constructed later - uniform construction throughout, but with two inserted rooms. Building contained cellar and eastern corridor. The building was possibly of two or three storey construction. Cellar room which contained many building materials. Clearly backfilled in the Roman period, since Anglo-Saxon burials had been cut through the upper levels. One room at least appears to have been heated.

{7} Possible interpretation of Easton Maudit villa as a temple site due to location / distribution of finds (coins and brooches).The basis for this interpretation is that Iron Age coins were located in a large semi circle centred on the southern circular building and that the brooches were recovered from a dark layer immediately above the natural (could represent area where ritual deposits and other offerings may have been made). Both of these aspects have been noted at other Iron Age / Roman temple sites.The "villa" plan would suggest that both the circular buildings were entered from the front of the villa and not from within the villa itself indicating that they were incorporated into the building, but seen as separate. Both circular buildings had mosaics indicating that they were seen as significant structures. It is possible that the rectangular rooms between the circular structures were something other than an elite residence and formed accommodation and workshops connected with the temples.

{8} Briefly lists finds but mentions Roman military items found on site [no other details], as well as a late Iron Age/early Roman scabbard sheath or chape. The presence of a Roman military site here or in the immediate vicinity.

{9} Finds include high status bronzes, military equipment and marble facings, although more important perhaps is the unusual range of roofing and floor tiles, indicating that artisans were being brought into the site from far afield. The plan of the building comprises a main rectangular block with a cellar and a fronting verandah which extends beyond the limits of the structure to terminate at two large circular masonry houses with foundations almost 1m deep. Most likely two storeys high. At each end of the verandah, where it joins the rotundas, are apsidal exedrae. The southern rotunda had a mosaic as did the principal room in the main block and the verandah.

{10} Report provides a summarised account of the investigations into Easton Maudit villa from 1960 to 2021. The impression of the site is that it began as an Iron Age occupation sometime around 50 BC and occasional sherds of earlier Iron-Age pottery are present. It came under direct Romano-British influence around AD 70-90 with the construction of a stone footed clay-walled round house. The site developed with the construction of a stone-footed and walled roundhouse. The major part of the main rectilinear block was two storeyed whilst the corridors remained single storeyed. It is possible that the stone roundhouses at each end of the building could possibly be towers as theur substantial footings would have been capable of supporting at least two storeys. Evidence suggests that the building went into disuse around AD 170 or at least before the end of the 2nd century, possibly suffering a devastating event whilst undergoing rebuilding and subsequently being used as a source of materials for the construction of other structures in the immediate vicinity. It is believed that buildings of 4th century date occupied the same settlement site but none are proven

{12} The brooch is in possession of Mr Clayson, Mill Road Bozeat. Mr Hall also found tesserae and painted plaster at this site. He retains all his finds which were made over a large area but could not give a more precise siting for the building. Site under crop; no surface finds made.

{13} NH 36 Listed as the possible site of a Roman villa.

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP85NE20 (unchecked) (Index). SNN443.

<2> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, (unchecked) (Series). SNN77380.

<3> Hall D.N., 1966, Sites on the North Bedfordshire and South Northamptonshire border, p.3 (unchecked) (Article). SNN37934.

<4> CADMAN G.E., 1990, SUPPLEMENTARY FILE- Easton Maudit Villa, (unchecked) (Note). SNN51840.

<5> Woodfield P.; Woodfield C., 1994, Easton Maudit Roman Villa: An Appraisal, (unchecked) (Report). SNN40987.

<6> Young S., 1994, Fieldwalking Survey of Romano-British Sites, (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN54726.

<7> Curteis M., 1996, Easton Maudit, (unchecked) (Notes). SNN40983.

<8> Farley, M, 1993, Finds from Newton Lodge Farm and Easton Maudit Villa (Correspondence). SNN112867.

<9> Various, 1994, Easton Maudit Roman Villa (Correspondence). SNN112868.

<10> Line, M and Martin, B, 2022, Easton Maudit VI: An Account of investigations and excavations, 1987-2001 (Report). SNN114465.

<11> Line, M and Martin, B, 2022, Easton Maudit VI: An Account of investigations and excavations, 1987-2001, Appendices (Report). SNN114466.

<12> Baird, J., 1970, Field investigators comments, F1 JB 8-SEP-70 (Notes). SNN110341.

<13> Scott, E., 1993, A gazetteer of Roman villas in Britain, p. 142/NH36 (Monograph). SNN110345.

<14> Brunning, E, 2024, Green Hill Solar Project, Site F, Northamptonshire: Geophysical Survey- interim report (Report). SNN116668.

Record last edited

Feb 10 2025 8:07PM