Chedworth Roman Villa

Welcome to my article about Chedworth Roman Villa, I will try and evaluate its evolution and interpret the footprints of its past, as left by many generations of its inhabitants.

Entrance to the villa

Ground plan of the villa

                                                   Overview

The village name of Chedworth, in all probability, was conceived by the tongue of the west Saxons. The word ‘worth’ relates to an enclosure or an enclosed settlement by a wall of wooden stakes. In the 9th century the area was listed as Cedda’s Homestead, and in the Doomsday Book the settlement was recorded as Cedeorde. The much later village of Chedworth lined a street over a mile long and was formerly three distinct settlements, upper, middle and lower Chedworth.

View from the villa looking east

The villa nestles contentedly within the Cotswolds, in the county of Gloucestershire. It is imposed on the landscape 500 feet above sea level at a point where three gullies meet to form the head of a single valley. This valley falls gently to the east towards the River Coln. This useful waterway rises up from the womb of Mother Earth at Brockhampton and flows south south east to marry with the River Thames, south west of the village of Lechlade.

The north and the west wings of the villa were constructed on artificial terraces, partly recessed into the hillside, while the south wing rests at a lower level nearer the valley floor. The villa is sheltered from the weather by the protection of the surrounding wooded hillsides, but these slopes denied the villa of much of the warmth of the sun. The advantages for the villa were a steady and regular water supply served by a spring. This is coupled with the availability of good building stone (oolitic limestone).

View of part of the West-wing and the North-wing bath-house.  

The indigenous people made good use of the fertile valleys within the Cotswolds, many being farmers and highly skilled craftsmen. The Romans recognised these people as a Celtic tribe known as the Dobunni. They minted their own coins and were pagans. The focus of their worship fell upon the natural world, with deities associated with the landscape. An example being – Cuda, a mother goddess associated with the Cotswold Hills, and its rivers and springs; and Sulis Minerva, the water goddess, at the town now known as Bath. Other cults embraced the social actions of hunting and mining.

Views from the villa looking East.

                                                            The Roman Villa

Many, many long years ago, in 1864, a gamekeeper on the land of the Earl of Eldon, was digging on an embankment, searching for his missing ferret, presumably lost while out hunting rabbits in the area. He was a man with a keen eye and an inquisitive mind and, as he searched, he began to uncover a trail of clues which opened the creaky doors into the hazy past of this villa. He observed fragments of Roman paving, much fallen stonework and shards of pottery. Most of the discovered material related to Room 32 of the north wing of the villa. The news of these finds reached the ear of a Mr James Farrier, a Scottish antiquarian. The Earl of Eldon, being this man’s nephew, subsequently paid for the forthcoming excavations. Mr Farrier no doubt utilised some of the Estate’s male employees and, following the archaeological excavation techniques of that era, had revealed by 1867 most of that which is on view today. The Earl also provided the funds for the museum and for the roofing structures of the site when the original excavations came to an end. In 1924 the site was bought for the National Trust by means of subscriptions raised mainly by the Bristol and Gloucester Archaeological Society, by the sustained efforts of Mr St. Clair Baddeley, a local archaeologist. From 1958 until 1965 Sir Ian Richmond conducted a series of excavations within the site. Then, from 1979 to 1983, Mr R Goodburn led a series of further excavations, sadly neither of these investigations were fully published. In the year, 2000 the Cotswold Archaeological Trust re-examined some of the reburied mosaics in order to help with the plans for the new proposed cover-building. In 2010 the exciting news surfaced that £3 million was to be invested on a major project to improve the protection for the fragile Roman remains and to upgrade the visitor facilities. This project was made possible by the generous donations of the following: £700,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund; £150,000 from the Gloucestershire Environmental Trust; with landfill tax contributions donated by Cory Environmental; £100,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation; other donations from the Somerfield Charitable Trust, the Roman Research Trust, The Cotswold AONB Sustainable Development Fund and the Kinsurdy Trust. Further donations came from a number of National Trust supporter groups and individual donors who have sponsored protective winter covers (socks) which prevent damage to the Roman pillars which support the underfloor heating system during the winter months. Included in this project design were five weeks which were allocated to excavate and conserve two areas of the 4^th century mosaics. Parts of these mosaics were last seen and devoured by human eyes over 150 years ago, when they were reburied after the Victorian excavations. Some of these mosaics, when the present excavation is finished, will be housed for public viewing in a proper environmentally controlled building which will protect  them from deterioration from frost, damp and direct sunlight. This project will be recorded in an academic monograph to be published in 2014.

                                                   The Occupation of the Villa

View from the villa looking East.

 

It seemed that the first Romano-British establishment on this site was constructed on virgin ground,  …….but a chance find in August 2001 revealed an infant burial which was scientifically dated to be from 360 BC. This suggests that an Iron Age settlement of unknown size may have been on this site during that period of time. In all probability, the first Romano-British villa was an unpretentious one with the aspect of utility being the main requirements. Archaeology offers up the suggestion that the original villa was laid out in the first half of the 2^nd century AD and originated as a range of three separate buildings, on the north, west and south sides of the valley. The main house being on the west side was constructed without a bathhouse. The south wing was a half-timbered building and on the north side there was a small bath suite on the site of the later bath suites. Close by there was a water cistern where the nymphaeum was later built. These early ranges contained no mosaics or verandas but, for this period of time, the size of Chedworth was considerable. It was a disastrous fire in the late 2^nd century AD that sparked off the updating and improvements at this villa. The main house and the south range were destroyed but when the ashes were swept away they were immediately rebuilt. In addition the baths were then enlarged and more rooms were added to the north range. There was still no evidence of mosaic floors being constructed during this period of rebuild.

In the late 3^rd century and early part of the 4^th century AD, the villa was lavishly remodelled. The villa complex would have been at its most elaborate and the remains now on view mostly date from that period of time. A new bath-suite was constructed at the northern end of the western range and the north-west baths were refurbished. The north range was extended with the addition of more rooms and each range was fronted by long, covered, colonnaded porticos. A new cross gallery created an upper courtyard which separated the residential area from a larger, lower courtyard further down the slope to the east. More recent excavations have revealed that the south wing seemed to be a mirror-image of the north wing. The south wing’s corridor/portico had its own shallow, channelled heating system (hypocaust), as did one of the rooms within this wing.

The entrance to the villa would have been from the east by a road/track way, from close to the modern river crossing and then through the middle of the adjoining field. Unlike Fishbourne Roman Palace, no formal garden, bedding trenches, pathways or fountains have been revealed by the excavations. It seems that the inner courtyard, just as it is today, was grassed over.

                                         The Rise of the Cotswolds Villas

 

Trees on the bank behind the villa



To understand the rise and fall of the Romano-British villas like Chedworth, we have to stop for a moment, dwell and take an enlightening stroll back into history. It seems that the local inhabitants, the Dobunni tribe and its factions, chose to welcome rather than repulse the advancing Roman legions as they sought to impose Romanisation within this part of England. Today the main town within this area is Cirencester. It is approximately 93 miles west north-west of London and lies on the lower dip slopes of the Cotswold, an outcrop of oolitic limestone, close to the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. The Romans built a fort here in AD 47 where the Fosse Way crossed the River Churn. The fort helped to defend the provincial frontier. The Dobunni tribe were based at a settlement 3 miles to the north, known as Bagendon. They were encouraged to reallocate to create a civil settlement near the fort. When the Roman frontier moved further north, following the conquest of Wales, the fort was levelled in approximately AD70, but the town/settlement persisted and flourished bearing the name of Corinium Dobunnorum. The local civic leaders were essentially the native aristocracy who were most influenced by the Roman culture. The population of this settlement continued to grow and by the 2^nd century it was the second largest town in Britain. By the 4^th century, Corinium Dobunnorum (Cirencester) was possibly a provincial capital. The town began to show the trappings of wealth with many town houses displaying numerous mosaic floors of high quality and elegantly painted interiors. Many of these mosaics and fragments of painted wall plaster can be seen in the Cirencester museum. The continued rise in population expanded the growth of the villas (farms) within the Cotswolds valleys. In the 3^rd/4^th century villa estates clustered quite thickly around this neighbourhood, with perhaps each villa controlling hundreds of acres of state encouraged farm and forest land. Alternatively, some of the villas could have been owned by entrepreneurs who invested their wealth in farmland. Sheep farming in these valleys was no doubt profitable, as the wool from these breeds was highly prized on the continent. With the local deposits of fullers earth (a sedimentary clay), a material used to absorb lanolin and other greasy impurities from the fleeces, this would have fuelled a local industry, such as dyeing, fulling and cloth weaving. The distribution of the crops/cereals and produce from these valleys was well served by an abundance of roads/highways. Three miles down the Coln valley lay the Fosse Way, the main road to Exeter and Lincoln. Akeman and Ermine Street could also have been used to distribute these wares. Akeman Street joined Cirencester to St Albans (Verulamium) via the Roman town of Alchester.

     THE TOUR AND DISCUSSION OF THE VILLA AND ITS MOSAICS



Local scenery

As I turn left off the thickly tree-lined A249 and head towards Chedworth Roman Villa, the scenery changes dramatically. On both sides of the narrow highway green rolling hills and steep wooded valleys are viewed, seemingly filled with sheep their heads bowed as they busily nibble away at grass. The sun breaks free from a bank of dark cloud and, as I open my car window, the feeling of tranquillity abounds, it gushes in and absorbs from me the stress of the 120 mile car journey. The next three miles disappear within a blinking of an eye as the entrance of the villa looms up and peers down at me from above. As I park the car to my left is a steep wooded embankment and to my right, just visible between the gaps in the foliage, the valley ebbs away to the east. I climb the awaiting stairs and enter into a warmly illuminated lobby. The villa staff, dressed in clean cut, black outfits, are delightful and informative. I recommend that the visitor arms themselves with a guide book as this enhances the understanding of the visual layout of the villa and its mosaics. To the left, within the lobby, is a small café serving fresh hot drinks, sandwiches and cakes that beg to be eaten. Interestingly, the water supply to the café is from the same spring that provided the villa with water during the 4^th century AD. The right hand side of the lobby contains numerous historical books and delicately, visually presented gifts to purchase.



The Shop

Also, the right hand side of the shop contains the door which transports the visitor from the 21^stcentury back to the 4^th century AD. Immediately, a model of the villa is set before you and it is from this place that the hourly tours of the villa begin. Before entering the new cover building to view the west wing and its mosaics I stop, take a glance to my right and view the valley which falls away from the north to the south and from the west to the east. The calm and the tranquillity of the Cotswolds wraps itself around my being like a welcome blanket. There is no noise pollution from either road or sky, just the rustle of the breeze as it travels through the wooded embankment behind me. It was with rising anticipation that I strode up the stairs and through the entrance of the new building containing the West Wing.

Cover building containing West-wing mosaics.

Part view of West-wing and North-wing.

View of North-wing, and to the right, lodge containing the museum.

During 2010 the remaining parts of the mosaic corridor were exposed from the ground after over a millennium of burial. The corridor, 116 feet 6 inches long and 8 feet 5inches wide, revealed that the complete pavement was a series of rectangular panels of intersecting circles alternating with square panels of guilloche mat.

View of the West-wing porticus.

Another view of the West-wing porticus.

The tesserae composing this 4^th century mosaic pavement are of the colours red, white, dark and pale blue/grey. It seems that the red tesserae are made of brick/tile, the white of local limestone and the dark blue/grey are from a rock called lias shale, found in the county of Dorset. The circular panels seduce and engage the eye seemingly more so than the square panels of guilloche, as the interlocking circles create concave-edged squares. Each square, at their centre, contains a solid red square alternating with a square of blue/grey. Opposite this corridor were a number of rooms adorned with mosaic floors. The finest creation being constructed for the dining room/triclinium (room 5). This 4^th century room was 29 feet by 19 feet in size and was heated by a hypocaust. The mosaic in this pleasant room contained tesserae of numerous colours – white, red, dark blue/grey, brown, grey, yellow ochre and some of a purplish brown. Some of these coloured tesserae could possibly be from the sandstones found on the eastern side of the Forest of Dean. This magnificent entertaining room was probably entered into via the mosaic-paved passage (5B) by the use of a flight of steps, located in the corridor.

This mosaic is of exceptionally high quality and laid by hands of much experience. A continuous swastika meander border captures within it two large panels of design. The inner panel, perhaps the main dining area, is of a square geometric design. My attention is drawn to the small, square, central motif (swastika-pelta) and as my eyes explore it my perspective is deceived. At first my interpretation is of a ball, safely and securely held within an inner square. But with continuous study, I perceive four pointed leaves protruding from a Solomon knot and their finely pointed leaves rest gently on the east, west, north and south of the inner boundary. I think we should accept that this mosaic panel would have contained the seating arrangements of the dining area, so that the participants could view and discuss the figured scenes set within the other mosaic panel. It seems possible that the small central motif, within the seating area, would still have been visible, and the never-ending, continuous design of the Solomon knot could symbolise the faith/hope that this high standard of living would also be never-ending. (This same design was also noted in a tessellated pavement in the Roman town of Bath).

Sitting comfortably within this panel are long rectangles to the east and to the west. Both reveal, from jewelled rimmed bowls, continuous acanthus scrolls. Beyond these, looking inwards, a large geometric square contains an absorbing design of squares of guilloche pattern penetrated by four rectangles of guilloche pattern. Note the varying complexity of the swastika meander which binds this inner panel together. The neatness of the way the tesserae are laid is a pointer to the skill and patience of the art of mosaic making, for they seem to go unnoticed when viewing the whole bigger picture of the design.

Ariadne and Bacchus.

As I view the northern panel of this mosaic, I see in my mind’s eye a servant after, perhaps, a fun-filled and riotous evening of entertainment, swabbing, washing and cleaning this floor and then guiding the waste water towards what looks like a tile drain in the south east corner of the floor.

View of the dining room 'triclinium.'from the North.Crown Copyright

The gentle covering of fresh water would have enhanced the colours of the tesserae and, for a short period of time, the figures within this mosaic would have glowed with pride. Perhaps then, prior to the dinner party, the mosaic could have been buffed up with a polish to hold this more visual effect during the evening. The ravages of time have denied us the most northern compartments, and the centre-piece, of this mosaic. It is possible that the centre held a medallion of Bacchus (the God of wine). This, perhaps, would be most fitting, as the guests inhibitions would have been more liberated as the wine flowed, with the guests drinking goblets regularly topped up by the attentive servants. Fortunately, large parts of three trapezoidal panels in the south of this mosaic can help with its interpretation.

Trapezoidal Panels of Ariadne and Bacchus

These panels possibly contain Bacchic scenes of satyrs and maenads, who were mythological beings, who were always represented as part of the entourage of Bacchus.  Their main role seemed to be to take part in wild and frenzied, drunken activities associated with the worship of Bacchus. The central, southern trapezoidal panel could relate to a mythological story of the first meeting of Ariadne (the daughter of Minos, King of Crete) and Bacchus. Ariadne had been abandoned by Theseus (the mythical founder king of Athens and the son of Aegeus and Poseidon) on the Greek island of Naxos. Bacchus, on first sight of Ariadne falls passionately in love with her. This central panel would have been the most visual for the diners, who would have been seated around the southern mosaic panel. This depiction seems to show perhaps their first meeting.  Ariadne is clad with a cloak/mantle draped over her left side and legs. She seems to be supporting herself with her left hand and looks coyly at Bacchus. Bacchus, with his cloak billowing out behind him in the breeze, looks longingly towards Ariadne and seems poised and ready to seduce her, aided by gentle and soothing sounds from the tambourine held within his left hand. In his right hand (lost) he grips a thyrsus, a symbol of prosperity, fertility and of pleasure of the highest order. Her seduction is imminent. In the right hand panel Ariadne swoons across the lap of Bacchus. Her left hand entering his tunic feels his heart racing and pounding with passion. Ariadne, startled by this, as the open palm of her left hand suggests, drops from it what seems like a shepherds crook. Bacchus pins the crook to the floor with his right foot thus informing her to leave it be as the seduction proceeds. The thyrsus seems to have been discarded as it stands alone but still within reach if needed. Also, a pan- flute can be seen lying in the bottom right hand corner. Perhaps this instrument was used to help with the seduction. If we turn our attention to the left hand panel, both the tambourine, in the right hand corner, and the thyrsus, lying prone across the floor, have been discarded. Bacchus, like the depiction of him in the right hand panel, seems to be cloaked in a leopard skin (Bacchus’ chariot was drawn by two leopards or cheetahs), but here he also wears a wreath upon his head, perhaps an ivy wreath which would have been most sacred to him. Ariadne and Bacchus seem to be ready to exchange a kiss. Ariadne’s right arm hangs casually around Bacchus’ shoulder as he grips her left arm at the wrist and while her fingers hold fast to control her billowing cloak.

Cupid depicting Summer.

The mosaisist shows versatility in the use of colours, for while the females are of a purplish brown in their outlining, these colours are used again but as infill for the male figures. The creamy grey colours used for the vines enliven the white background of the three panels. Also noted is how these panels are framed, alternately with a single band of guilloche and a dark blue wavy scroll.

In the four corners of this mosaic panel, in triangular compartments, depictions of the four seasons of the year joyously engage the eye. In the south west corner, below the trapezoidal panel depicting Bacchus wearing a wreath upon his head, spring skips gaily within his setting, with his draped waistband hanging limply on his left side, while on his right it seems uplifted by the breeze. The cupid with the swallow perching upon the hand of his outstretched right arm, seem to exchange a welcoming and warming gaze. In cupid’s left hand is, perhaps, a basket containing spring bulbs or flowers. Creamy/grey foliage accompanies two heart-shaped leaves in this scene, perhaps these hearts symbolise the joy of the pending longer days of summer. In the north-west corner awaits summer. The cupid seems to have just fluttered down as a wing is noticed behind his left shoulder. In his right hand he grips a garland of flowers and in his left, held tightly within his arm, is a basket possibly full of flowers from which blooms appear to be falling.

These are noticed by his left knee, as they fall gently towards the ground. In the top right and left we perhaps view healthy-looking ears of corn. In the north east corner just a glimpse of autumn remains. His legs seem crossed and round his waist, like spring, he is draped by an uplifted stole. As with spring and summer he hugs a basket and from this a heart-shaped leaf seems to have sprouted. Once again a creamy/grey infill of foliage is noticed. In the south east corner winter, with his left foot protruding the inner frame, seems ready to run away. Perhaps in the top right and top left hand corners we view ears of corn with their tips blighted. Dangling from his right hand is a dead hare and he grasps in his left hand a leafless twig. Does the twig symbolise the starkness of winter? And does the hare symbolise that the weak and vulnerable will perish? Alternatively, is the twig representing firewood, so that the hare can be cooked and eaten? In this scene the cupid is well prepared for the icy cold winds and frosty days of winter. He wears thick leggings and perhaps boots. He sports a hooded cloak (birrus, which was made in Britain) from which the whites of his eyes peer out. He seems to be wearing, close to his body, a tunic which would act as a vest, for over the top of this is a much thicker tunic.

Unfortunately very little of the original wall-plaster from this villa has survived. But, no doubt, the walls of this dining room would have been decorated to compliment the mosaic floor and in some of the coloured panels, possibly of red, orange, green and yellow, vines would have been depicted with deep red, drooping grapes in abundance.

Mosaic, Room 5B.

Next to view is the mosaic floor in Room 5B, which has been dated to the late 4^th century when this room was constructed to be an antechamber/lobby. Perhaps this room was for the gathering and reception of the guests prior to their entry into the main dining room (Room 5). The mosaic on view here is the remaining part of a continuous pelta design. Each pelta is tipped with a blue/grey cross and contained within them is an infill of red. All are bound together with thin travelling, wavy bands of blue/grey tesserae. The design is held in place by a continuous right angled broken meander of Z- pattern and this, in turn, by a surround design of red-stepped triangles. The colours of the tesserae within this mosaic are white, red, dark blue/grey, pale blue/grey and a creamy/grey. It seems that pure limestone was used for the white and the blue/grey could be from Liassic limestone with an iron content.

Room 6.

Apodyterium from the East.Crown Copyright

As we move further north down this west wing, we engage with Room 6. This room was heated by a channelled hypocaust which consisted of masonry piers, instead of the usual pilae, supporting the mosaic floor. Sadly, the passing of time has claimed the central panel, but parts of the borders of the north and south ends have survived. There is an outer border of Cotswold stone which completely surrounds this square room. The inner square border is constructed of red tile, and looking inwards, a dark blue/grey swastika-meander rests within a setting of creamy-grey tesserae. Halfway along this north and south meander small rectangular boxes are noticed, each contain a guilloche design constructed of red and creamy/white tesserae. The central panel (missing) is framed by a continuous three strand guilloche constructed of red, yellow and white tesserae.

Changing room / apodyterium.

The next treasure that awaits us is in the small west range bath-house, Room 10. The bath-house was one of the main symbols of Roman civilisation and consequently the mosaics within them would have been of high visual quality. Room 10 was the changing room (apodyterium) and measured 4.45 metres (14 feet 6 inches) by 3.9 metres (12 feet 9 inches). In antiquity the walls would have been lined with benches and the bathers clothing and belongings would have been stored in cubicles or on shelves, but perhaps here, due to the small size of the changing room, they would have been stored in a nearby room. It is also open to speculation as to who looked after the bathers’ items of worth during their absence. Some would have had their own privately owned slave, if not possibly a slave could be hired at the baths (capsarius).

More . . . apodyterium.

But …. Alternatively, if the villa was owned by one family and the baths only used by themselves and their guests, their bathing requirements would have been utilised by in-house servants. I feel that the final design of the mosaic floor within the apodyterium would have been constructed only after much thought and discussion by the proprietor in conjunction with his team of mosaicists. The mosaics within the baths were perhaps second only to the floors of the dining room in their importance for, like the dining area, visitors would have spent considerable lengths of time within them. While the dining room mosaics, containing depictions from Greek mythology and of the four seasons of the year, would have stimulated interest and conversation, here in Room 10 the bathers attention would have been more eye-focused on the mosaic pattern which contains many interesting and similar, but subtly varying motif designs. This mosaic is constructed within and around a saltire (diagonal cross) design. At its centre is a roundel containing a cantharus which binds the four arms of the cross together. A ‘jewelled’ band surrounds the lip of the cantharus and two heart-shaped leaves with stalks reside around its lost pedestal. Within each arm of the diagonal cross are pelta-urns with volutes which have varying depth of design and colours. Beyond these pairs of lozenges are noticed, each containing within them varying designs of heart-shaped motifs. A square of simple, three-strand guilloche composed of creamy/grey, red and yellow tesserae, which divert on each of its four sides to form triangles, frames the internal design. The outer border of the mosaic is of a swastika meander and contains within it varying sizes of rectangular, boxed guilloche. White ‘eyes’ exist in all of the guilloche constructed in this mosaic.

More . . . apodyterium.

In 1978 his mosaic was lifted and re-laid for conservation purposes and as we view it, in the present, it becomes obvious that in antiquity there were several areas of repair. It is noticeable that compared to the quality of the craftsmanship of the original mosaic, the repairs seem to be substandard. In the north east corner the angles of the lozenges are now rounded compared to the original elsewhere which were perpendicular. In the east and the south borders substandard repairs are visible. Also, sadly, within the central roundel, containing a depiction of a cantharus, creamy/grey tesserae were used instead of the original colour, white. Thankfully, enough of the original design remains which would have stimulated enjoyable debate between the visitors and users of this apodyterium. There are a number of subtle differences of construction and of colour within the areas of the pelta-urns with volutes, also within the heart shaped motifs that reside just beyond these, but within the lozenges. Also notice the difference of bulk and colour of the heart shape designs within the triangles on the east and west side of this mosaic. Within the triangle on the east side a bird, perhaps a pigeon, which is outlined in white tesserae, dwells alone. It seems to be showing interest towards a small red flower within a curving piece of foliage. I assume that its mate would have resided in the west triangle where its depiction would have held subtle differences.

Tree root on wall which shows the original level of the Victorian excavations.

I have suggested that it is a pigeon as this bird was a symbol of a mother goddess associated with the Cotswolds hills and its springs and rivers.

The next mosaic floor is found in Room 11, the warm room (tepidarium), which contains a floor consisting of geometric designs. For the bathers, the sequence of use of the rooms would have been as follows - changing room (apodyterium), warm room (tepidarium), hot room (caldarium), then from the hot room through the warm room to the cold room (frigidarium), then returning to the changing room. The mosaic in the warm room is constructed with the combination of just three different colours of tesserae. The outer border of coarse red tesserae leads the eye to a continuing border of white tesserae. Beyond this a double fillet of dark blue/grey surrounds the central rectangular panel.

Room 11.

The rectangular panel is of a patterned design of dark blue/grey intersecting circles. These circles create white concave-sided squares which contain red at their centres. The whole of this design is set on a white background. If we look long and hard enough some of the circles can also relate to a joined up petal design. This visually engaging and intriguing design could possibly have stimulated debate amongst the bathers as they whiled away their time.

The pavement of Room 12 has succumbed to the ravages of time, but its pillars have been preserved for our modern eye to view. Gladly, the frigidarium (Room 14), with the cold plunge bath at the rear, retains part of its mosaic floor. Again we see a design composed within a rectangle which, like Room 11, only contains tesserae of red, white and dark blue/grey. A pattern of opposed pelta/styalised shields are used to form two circles with opposite quadrants in red and/or white. Between the pelta circles, concave-sided squares are noticed and within them are smaller concave squares. Some are shaded in red and the alternates with a dark blue grey. At the southern end of the panel the pelta design, in the south west and south east corners, shows a different arrangement which adds visual variety to the overall design.

Room 14.

All the pelta show dark blue/grey crosses at their central points and those at the southern end have small red triangles just beyond the crosses. The southern end shows a small red and white chequer border contained within a dark blue/grey frame. In all probability, this end design and its border would have been replicated at the northern end of this mosaic floor. The mosaic is surrounded by a series of coloured borders. There is a large one of a creamy/grey and within this there are two bands of red. Beyond the second red band a white border runs alongside another border of dark blue/grey. The dark blue/grey border outlines a three-strand guilloche, one being of red and two of white. 

More of mosaic in room 14

As I leave the west wing of this villa and progress out of the cover building to view the remains of the north wing baths and to observe and dwell upon the mysteries of the nymphaeum, I cast my minds eye back to the west wing bath-house. The rooms, possibly, were constructed of stuccoed walls depicting trees, birds and other pastoral images. The ceilings may have been adorned with a sky-blue colour dressed with white, fluffy clouds. Other ceilings, perhaps, were full of stars and celestial imagery, all this to add to and compound the human emotion of relaxation, peace and tranquillity.

The Nymphaeum

The nymphaeum housed the spring which supplied the early villa with its life-blood, water. It rests, detached from the villa, in the north-west corner, just below the woodland. The water would have percolated gently down from the bed of Fullers earth beneath the wood, to be captured in an octagonal basin capable of retaining 1500 gallons. This early shrine, perhaps without a roof and open to the elements, would have been curved at the back. A short distance from and at the centre of the semi-circular apse, would have stood a stone altar and forward from that the octagonal pool was set within a stone-flagged floor. The altar would have held a stone carved British/Romanised water goddess, standing proudly and presiding over her spring and peacefully returning the gaze of her worshippers. The elevated position of the shrine would have made it visually noticeable as the villa’s inhabitants and visitors went about their daily business. An upward glance would have been a constant reminder that all who resided here did so only with the continued blessing of the Mother Earth goddess and of her chosen water deity. In this villa’s later life, this spring would have been just one of its numerous water supplies. The shrine would possibly have been refurbished at a later date with a roof and would have held more architectural detail and pictorial coloured stucco.

From the nymphaeum my mind and attention is now drawn to the south-facing, 100 metre (300 feet) long north wing. This wing still holds numerous secrets of its past, but careful archaeology and interpretation have afforded us much to digest. For instance, Room 30 was the kitchen and from a midden (rubbish pit), which was against the east wall of this room, bones of domestic fowl, small birds, duck, sheep, oxen and pig were retrieved which give an indication of the wide range of meats available to the villa’s diners. Outside and just to the north beyond this room another midden hoarding sherds of pottery, dated from the 2^nd century AD to the 4^th Century AD, were excavated. Perhaps some relate to accidents that occurred within the kitchen as meals were being prepared or cleared away. It seems that Room 27, with its plain concrete floor, was utilised as a workshop as a small clay crucible, used for small scale smelting/casting, was excavated from here. Both of these rooms have doorways opening on to mosaic-paved veranda.

Mosaic of the North-wing bath house.

Mosaic of the North-wing bath house.

Mosaic floors were recorded in the following rooms, Room 22, 24, 25A, 28, 31A and 32, plus the whole length of the northern porticus and the passage connecting Rooms 10 – 14 with the veranda in the west wing. Perhaps the most visually impacting section of the north wing now is the remains of its baths which in its final phase, the whole suit, was used for sauna bathing. On view are the fragments of two mosaic floors. On one floor a simple guilloche can be seen with bands of red, white and perhaps yellow all set in a dark blue/grey background and outlined in white. The centre is much damaged and repaired with opus signinum (pink mortar). The white ‘eyes’ within the guilloche help to give it more visual impact. The other mosaic design, also extremely damaged, reveals the remnants of a swastika-meander. On the left side, as we view it, lines in white, red and a dark blue/grey are perhaps part of a square design of which many would have been contained within the overall swastika-meander. On the far left a red border of large coarse tesserae bond onto four rows of coarse white tesserae and this in turn leads on to a double row of smaller red tesserae followed by a double row of white tesserae.

Of the mosaic floor in Room 24, just two pieces remain and these can be viewed within the villa’s museum. On this, my latest visit, a number of photographs were laid out of the mosaics that were excavated from the north range and then reburied after they were drawn and recorded by students from the University of Birmingham. One of the photos relates to Room 25A of the north wing. At the top of the photo part of the inner fragmented design of the mosaic can be seen. It seems to be based upon a square and triangle design, the in-fills of these are of red and dark blue/grey. These inner designs are enclosed in a double fillet of dark blue/grey and of white. Outside the immediate design alternate borders of bands of red and creamy/grey (Cotswold stone) are visible. The other photo probably relates to part of the northern porticus, where two students, one with a damp sponge and the other with a small hand brush, are busy cleaning the mosaic. The mosaic is a chequerboard pattern of red and white squares and joins another section of, seemingly, plain white tesserae. Possibly more information about these two mosaics will be revealed in the acedemic  monograph to be published in 2014. Rooms 31, 31A and 32 seem to be a dining area and, in reality, the north wing is a close replica to the west wing.

Part of the North-Wing Veranda

Part of the North-Wing Veranda

As for the south wing, a small excavation across the lower part of it in 1997 suggests that this wing was constructed of a range of rooms fronted by a heated corridor. So, perhaps, this wing also provided residential accommodation. Interestingly, archaeology suggests that the latrines (Room 4) went out of use in the early 4^th century. I can only imagine that perhaps that bigger and grander latrines were constructed somewhere further east within this wing. The rest of the wing remains an apparition for, though more was glimpsed by magnetometry and resistivity surveys, there is evidence that the wing runs east for at least 20 metres beyond the National Trust boundary.

Small finds from the museum

Small finds from the museum.

I recommend that visitors spend time visiting the museum which was constructed immediately after the Victorian excavations. It was built by James Farrier and the floor consists of red and black tiles with a central ’E’ for Eldon (who financed this museum and the excavations). Within the museum are numerous interesting reminders of the villas past, including some of a personal nature relating to the villa’s inhabitants/visitors.

The lodge containing the museum.

                                                                   CONCLUSION

My mind is embedded within a constant swirling mist as I seek answers as to how all this opulence at Chedworth was funded. At the time of writing this article, religion seems to be taking centre stage as the oxygen that fuelled and sustained the villa’s finances during its final years. But only, I feel, because as yet archaeology has not revealed a sustainable alternative. Profits from sheep farming are a possibility, as British wool was a sort after commodity within the Empire for its quality and would have generated much wealth. Although, how many head of sheep were farmed here is impossible to estimate as the boundaries of the villa estate are unknown. Perhaps they were natural boundaries determined by escarpments and stream valleys.

                                                    RELIGION

An Altar.

Only one half of a mile south east of the villa the remains of a Romano-British temple was discovered. It was constructed on an artificial platform 35 yards from and 50 feet above the flood plain of the River Coln. The platform is estimated to have been 50 feet square with a colonnaded portico and cella set on a podium of huge hewn limestone blocks. Around the platform area drums of stone columns one and a half feet in diameter, a fragment of a capital and pieces of moulded stone architrave were retrieved. This then was a luxury temple of classical architecture. A number of coins dated from the middle of the 2^nd century to the 4^th century AD were excavated from here and a number of small finds from this temple can be viewed in the museum.

Perhaps, like the local, oval amphitheatre, which could accommodate up to 8000 people and offer up various forms of entertainment, the villa was for public use for the peoples religious practices and festivals, with the benefit of accommodation and baths for relaxation. The villa may have been in the control of the town’s administration and its upkeep paid for by taxation and the various rental and hire charges. The archaeology suggests that both paganism and Christian worship were practised within the villa’s complex, although it is not possible just though archaeology to interpret whether both were practised in union or one religion prevailed over the other in certain periods of history. A number of pagan reliefs depicting certain gods were excavated at Chedworth, including one set in oolitic limestone of a hunter-god. Also two altars were found, both depicting the god of Mars lenus, one is crudely sculptured compared to the other one. A larger and uninscribed altar was excavated from the nymphaeum and other statues found on site can be viewed in the museum. The latest find seems to be a pewter libation cup recovered from the north wing in 1998. The fingerprints of Christianity are fewer and less clear than those of paganism, although for a period of time they were set in stone for all to view on one of the coping stones from the octagonal pool, at the nymphaeum. The coping stone had been incised with a symbol of an X (chi) and P (rho). These two letters are the first two letters of Christos/Christ in Greek. This may suggest that the waters of the spring were purified for Christian use and therefore the presiding water spirit was driven out. Interestingly, the coping stones from the octagonal pool, including the one that was incised, were recycled as building material to construct the steps of the west bathhouse at some later date within the villa’s history. This then could indicate that the traditional religions have re-established themselves. Perhaps then a clearer picture may appear if we now turn our attention to the religious preferences of certain Roman emperors during the period from 300 AD to 410 AD, when the Roman legions were officially removed from this island.

Under the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337 AD) Christianity was legalised in 313 AD when the Edict of Milan was issued, but this also granted tolerance to all religions, including Christianity. Therefore this edict also reaffirmed the importance of religious worship to the welfare of the state and empire. The Emperor Julian (361-363 AD), who was the last emperor of the Constantinian dynasty, which was the Empire’s first Christian dynasty, tried to revive the traditional Roman practices at the cost of Christianity. The Emperor Jovian (363-364 AD) re-established Christianity by revoking the edicts of Julian against Christians. The next emperor, Valentinian (364-375 AD), was a Christian and permitted liberal religious freedom to all of his subjects. Theodosius (379-395), who was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire, promoted Christianity within the Empire and he declared the ‘catholic church’ as the legitimate imperial religion. In 391 AD pagan temples were closed and pagan worship was forbidden.

At what depth the chosen religious preferences of the emperors were absorbed by the local populous in Britannia is open to debate. Although it does seem that Theodosius was extremely aggressive to enforce his chosen beliefs, it is possible that the Roman administration in Cirencester were advised to pursue his commands and consequently paganism at Chedworth went into a steep decline.

More daylight may be shed upon the fate of Chedworth Roman Villa if we take look at the coins which were excavated here and compare their dates against those found elsewhere, in other Cotswold villas and in Cirencester. Coins ceased to come into Britain in any quantity after 400 AD, but it is difficult to assess when they eventually became redundant as a currency for trading. In Cirencester and some of the villas in the surrounding valleys coins were excavated dating to the reign of Arcadius (383-408 AD), but at Chedworth, only one coin datable to after 383 AD was found. Possibly, Chedworth villa went out of general public use and therefore the volume of people who visited dried up when paganism was declared unlawful. Perhaps the villa reverted to just a subsistence level of farming carried out by its remaining inhabitants.

Over the passing of the years the villa fell into general decay. Good building stone would have been robbed out and used elsewhere. During the initial excavations a lime kiln, built from the materials of the ruined walls was excavated from the steep hillside behind the north wing. It was, no doubt, an active agent in the destruction of the remains. When the robbing out of any wanted, reusable material had ceased, the lime-kiln and the dismembered remains of the villa would have been abandoned to the elements. Hill-wash and the occasional landslide would have engulfed the remains and laid a fertile bed of earth for bushes and trees to propagate and eventually the villa’s remains would have been set free from prying human eyes.

                                                            The Future

The local villas

There are at least 22 known villas within a 10 mile radius of Chedworth, but a number of these have only been glimpsed through archaeology, although the remains at Worthington has revealed mosaic floors of quality. More of these villas’ secrets could possibly be revealed to the living by the use of modern satellite technology. Since the declassification in 1995, by the US military, corona satellite images can be used for archaeological investigations. They produced high resolution stereo images which preserve pictures of archaeological sites and landscapes which have been destroyed or obscured by modern development. But the application of corona imagery, in archaeological research, needs to be conducted by specialists because of the challenges involved in correcting spatial distortions produced by the satellites unusual panoramic cameras. At the moment it seems that the best exponent of this technology, which allows us to see the invisible, is Dr Sarah Parack, an archaeologist and Egyptologist of the University of Alabama, at Birmingham, USA. The use of this revolutionary satellite technology, and her passion for history, have driven her to unveil and open the doors back into antiquity at Portus, the long lost harbour of Rome.

The complete plan of the villa

In these times of austerity the funding to use this technology in the Cotswolds valleys would have to come, no doubt, from a private source. Perhaps from a benefactor, like Ivan Margary was to Fishbourne Roman Palace, someone with a hunger to understand more of our ancestors past. Personally, I hope that a benefactor steps forth from the shadows sooner rather than later as my candle of life burns low and its flame has begun to flicker. Whether the Cotswold valleys are hushed with snow or bathed in sunshine, or in shadow, the natural beauty of the ebbing and flowing of the seasons has made me realise that being born in Britannia is indeed a blessing.

Footnote : At the end of this summer (2014) National Trust archaeologists discovered a new mosaic between the 4th century villa's North Bath and a range of rooms further to the east. The remains of a tessellated floor covering an area 18 metres by 6.75 metres was found. The mosaic was decorated with intricate geometric patterns bounded by bands of red and white stripes. The mosaic has extensive patches of damage but is still clearly a single surface covering the entire floor of a single room. This was probably a grand reception room. The mosaic has been recorded and has been reburied for its own protection.