Monument record MDO6397 - East Hemsworth Roman Villa, Witchampton

A Roman villa located near Walls Cottages and west of East Hemsworth discovered in 1831. The villa sits on a north facing slope of a Chalk spur in the angle between two Roman Roads which converge on Badbury Rings. Excavations in 1905 suggest that there may have been a main central block with projecting wings at each end, with a passage to another wing. A number of mosaics were found, including one with the bust of a sea or river god close to a plunge bath.

A Roman Villa at Hemsworth was excavated by G.H. Engleheart in 1905. <1>

DO 37 Listed as the site of a Roman villa. <3>

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1908, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1908, 1 xxxvii (Serial). SDO19.

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1909, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1909, 1-12 (Serial). SDO20.

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1975, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume V (East), 110 (Monograph). SDO129.

‘(22) ROMAN VILLA (96320587), near Wall's Cottages and 2/3 mile W. of East Hemsworth (20), was discovered in 1831. The site, now heavily ploughed, is on the gentle N. slope of a low Chalk spur in the angle between two Roman roads which converge on Badbury Rings.
The records of excavations carried out in 1905 are difficult to interpret, but they suggest that a main block, perhaps 250 ft. long and orientated E.N.E.-W.S.W., had wings projecting S.E. at each end; apparently it was connected by a N.-S. passage to another wing, 60 ft. to S.E. At the N.E. end, four mosaic pavements and a hypocaust indicated five rectangular rooms. The largest mosaic, 13 ft. square, contained a circular panel (Plate 89) with the bust of a sea or river god surrounded by concentric decorative borders. To the W. of this pavement was a plunge bath, nearly 6 ft. square and 2½ ft. deep, with a pelta pattern in black and white on its mosaic floor.
About 100 ft. S.W. of these rooms was a group of three pavements. One, 20 ft. long and rectangular, apparently had a pattern including three large roundels. The other two were some 15 ft. square, that on the N. having a chequer design formed by alternate pieces of grey limestone and Kimmeridge shale, that on the S. being made of 'bluish pebbles'.
To the S.W. of these pavements and aligned obliquely in relation to the other rooms, were a large apsidal pavement, 16 ft. deep by 12 ft. wide, and a hexagonal floor some 9 ft. across. The apsidal pavement (Plate 89) has a central panel with the figure in white of Venus rising naked from waves, backed by a large shell of red, grey and white, within concentric decorative borders. A wide outer border depicts five dolphins, with smaller, fish and scallop shells. The colours are black, buff, grey, purple, pale blue, white and yellow. A burnt patch obliterates the upper part of the Venus.
Another group of rooms exposed some 40 ft. to the S.W. included a large hypocaust with fallen debris of a mosaic, including many yellow tesserae, and wall plaster, one piece of which preserved part of a painted column and capital. Among other mosaic fragments in this group was a border composed of pairs of large leaf-shaped ovals. Another 'pebble' pavement lay nearby.
The walls of the building were of flint and the roofs were of lozenge-shaped stone slabs. It was remarked that the floors appeared fresh and that the quarter-round plaster mouldings at the junction of walls and floors were still sharp. There were traces indicating boarded floors. Many signs of burning suggested destruction by fire. The few finds included coins of Tetricus I, Constantine I and Gratian. A rubbish pit near the Venus pavement contained pottery and tiles. Inhumation burials were reported from an adjoining field.
The roundel with the sea god, the floor of the bath, tesserae, wall plaster and small finds are in D.C.M.; the Venus pavement is in the British Museum. (Dorset Procs., XXIX (1908), lxxxviiviii; XXX (1909), 1–12; LI (1929), 87, 102, 104. Proceedings of the Bournemouth Natural Science Society, I (1908–9), 63–4.)
The Roman road from Old Sarum to Badbury Rings crosses the parish.’

<3> Scott, E, 1993, A Gazetteer of Roman villas in Britain, 55-56 (Bibliographic reference). SWX1795.

<4> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BB72/03702 (Index). SDO14738.

VENUS RISING FROM THE SEA (HEAD DEFACED) NOW IN BM.FOUND 1831 EXCAVATED ENGLEHEART 1905-8.SEE ALSO DOR3/117.BB71/2478 AND FF86/394 MAY DUPLICATE THIS PHOTO

<5> Historic England, Historic England Archive, FF86/00393 (Index). SDO14738.

NEPTUNE - MOSAIC

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 209284 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Feb 2 2023 4:29PM