Northchurch Roman villa facts for kids
Northchurch Roman Villa is the name given to the remains of a large Roman country home in Northchurch, Hertfordshire. This ancient site was uncovered in 1973 when new houses were being built in the area.
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Discovering Northchurch Roman Villa
Archaeologists found evidence of four main building stages at this large Roman estate. The very first signs of a settlement date back to the middle of the first century BC. Even though no actual building parts from this time were found, pottery and other items suggest that a villa already stood here.
A Look at the Villa's History
Around the beginning of the first century AD, a stone building was constructed. At first, it was quite small, with just four rooms and a covered porch called a veranda.
Later, during its third phase, the building was made much bigger. It gained several more rooms and probably even had a second floor! It seems the villa was left empty around AD 170.
But the story didn't end there. In the middle of the third century, people moved back into the villa. In its fourth and final phase, a special bathhouse was added to the south side of the complex. The villa continued to be lived in until the end of the fourth century.
Art and Animals at the Villa
Some of the rooms in the villa were decorated with beautiful wall paintings. Archaeologists found a piece of painted plaster wall with the letter A on it. They wondered if these were Christian paintings that might have once shown a chi-rho, which is an early Christian symbol. Stones that belonged to a mosaic floor were also discovered, showing that the villa had fancy decorations.
By studying the animal bones found at the site, experts learned that during the second century, the people living at the villa mainly kept sheep.
Protecting the Past
Today, Northchurch Roman Villa is a protected site, known as a scheduled monument. This means it's an important historical place that is legally protected. However, the remains of the villa are now located underneath modern houses.
