Bancroft Roman Villa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bancroft Roman Villa |
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Site of Bancroft Roman Villa
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| General information | |
| Location | Bancroft |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 52°03′24″N 0°47′53″W / 52.05675°N 0.79817°W |
| Construction started | 1st century |
| Demolished | 5th century |
The Bancroft Roman Villa was a large, fancy Roman house in the Bancroft area of Milton Keynes, England. It started as a simpler farmhouse. Over time, it grew into a grand building. This villa had beautiful mosaics (pictures made from small colored tiles). It also featured a special formal garden. Today, you can see where the main rooms were in Bancroft Park. A fish-pond from the villa has also been rebuilt. One of the original mosaics is now on display in the Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre.
History of Bancroft Roman Villa
The very first farmhouse was built here in the late 1st century AD. It was located downhill from an older Iron Age settlement. In the 2nd century, a temple or special tomb was built on the nearby hilltop. Around the year 170 AD, the farmstead was sadly destroyed by fire.
By the late 3rd century, a much larger house replaced the burned one. Major updates happened in the 4th century. Many rooms received new geometric mosaics. The main bath-suite was rebuilt and made bigger. Outside the villa, a beautiful formal garden was created. An ornamental fish-pond was also added. On top of the hill, the old tomb was taken down. A new circular shrine was then built close by.
Finding and Showing the Villa
Archaeologists first dug up parts of the villa in the 1970s. They did more digging from 1983 to 1987. This made Bancroft one of the most thoroughly explored Roman villas in Britain. After the excavations, the villa was covered up again. This was done to help protect it for the future.
However, the outlines of the main rooms are marked on the ground today. Modern stonework shows where the walls once stood. The ancient fish-pond has also been carefully rebuilt. The precious mosaics were taken from the site. One of them is now proudly shown in Queen's Court, CMK Shopping Centre.
