SDO18137 - Frampton Roman Villa: Archaeological investigation 2019-2021

This report details the excavation conducted on a section of water meadow in Nunnery Mead where geophysical surveys had revealed the position of a Roman building. Through the excavation of four trenches across this site, Bournemouth University attempted to determine the state of preservation of the archaeology, ground truth the geophysical survey results and determine the nature and extent of the building. Through the investigation the recording of a Roman mosaic was achieved which revealed a state of adequate protection to the archaeology, although the mosaic in the main wing was not complete. The geophysical results were found in every case to relate to buried archaeology. The position of the main wing of the building was determined and the existence of a building east of the main wing has been proven. The partial west wing was not located. The building has been determined as a standard tri-partite villa and domestic pottery recovered is attributable to both earlier and later phases.