Eccles Roman Villa facts for kids

The Eccles Roman Villa in Kent, England, was a huge and fancy Roman country house. It was discovered and dug up by archaeologists between 1962 and 1976. This villa was enormous, almost 112 meters long in the second century AD. Over 135 different rooms have been found from its many building phases. The villa was left empty in the 300s AD. Much of its stone was later taken away in the 1200s to build Aylesford Priory.

Discovering the Eccles Roman Villa

The Eccles Roman Villa is located on the east side of the Medway Valley. People knew about Roman remains in this area since the 1800s. During the excavations, archaeologists found some human skeletons from Roman times. These were placed under the villa's floors. They also found pieces of Roman pottery and old coins.

Next to the villa's south-east side, a large cemetery from after the Roman period was found. There were also some signs of an even older settlement. This settlement belonged to the Iron Age, which was before the Romans came to Britain.

The Villa's Early Days

The very first Roman villa at Eccles was built around 65 AD. It was a long building with at least 12 rooms. It also had a covered walkway, called a porticus, and probably a second floor. Five of these rooms might have had beautiful floors made of small colored tiles, known as mosaics.

In front of the house, there was a long, decorative pool. This building was very important and grand. Stone buildings were not common in Roman Britain at such an early time. A huge bath house, called a thermae, was built right next to it.

Mosaics and Art

Archaeologists found pieces of mosaics in several rooms. Most of these were not in good condition. One mosaic piece likely showed two gladiators, who were ancient Roman fighters. They also found remains of paintings on the walls.

Changes and Expansions

The first bath house was damaged by fire. So, around 120 AD, a new bath house was built. The main house also got bigger. These new parts were used until about 180 AD.

Then, a third and even larger set of baths was built. The house was changed again. A corridor was added at the back. New mosaic floors, called tessellations, were put in. A new section with a special heating system, called a channelled hypocaust, was also added. A hypocaust used hot air under the floor to warm the rooms.

The last big changes happened after 290 AD. The back corridor was turned into a group of rooms. These new rooms also had hypocaust heating.

Who Lived Here?

Some historians believe that a person named Adminius might have first built this villa. He was a British ruler who lived around the time the Romans invaded Britain.

Learning More About the Villa

The findings from the excavations were written about in several short reports. However, a full and final report about all the discoveries has not yet been published.