Welcome to my article discussing the discovery, its
evolution and final destruction of Newport Roman Villa on the Isle of Wight .My
initial guide will be led by the archaeological and excavation
reports and recordings of the villa in the mid and late 1920s.
 |
| Location of the villa |
ISLE
OF WIGHT
The Isle of Wight landmass, at one point in its evolutionary
history, would have still been attached to Europe and South East England. About
10,000 years ago the great ice sheets of the last ice-age melted causing a
substantial rise in sea level. Because of this, around 7,000 years ago the
island was separated from the mainland. The Isle of Wight is now located about
5 miles off the coast of the County of Hampshire and separated from Britain by
a strait called the Solent. It is a diamond-shaped island of 147sq miles and is
about 26 miles across.
The town of Newport is situated slightly to the north of the
centre of the island at the head of the navigable section of the River Medina,
which flows northwards towards the Solent. The town has a quay to which the
tidal water reaches. It was built as a planned town in the 12th
century AD and overlooks the Bowcombe Valley. This historic town now centres on
two elegant squares with Georgian and Victorian architecture surrounding them.
In 1180 AD the church of St Thomas of Canterbury (Thomas Becket) was built and
lasted until 1854 when it was rebuilt with 14th century details.
It seems possible that the Isle of Wight had once been an
independent region ruled by its own dynasty (Jutes?) until it was conquered and
consequently Christianised by the West Saxons in the 7th century AD.
In the Doomsday Book (1086) the Islands name is recorded as ‘Wit’. The Norman
conquest of 1066 transferred the overall manorial rights of the island to
William Fitzosbern, as Lord of the Isle of Wight. The island only became under
the full control of the Crown when it was sold by the dying last Norman lord,
Lady Isabella De Fortibus, to Edward the First in 1293 AD. Consequently the
lordship became a royal appointment, with a short interruption when the first
Duke of Warwick, Henry de Beauchamp, was crowned King of the Isle of Wight.
King Henry VI assisted at the ceremony, placing the crown on the Duke’s head.
When the Duke died with no male heir, in 1445, his regal title expired with
him.
The evolution of the island’s current and accepted name is
shrouded within the fog of the past, and for many years numerous explanations
and theories have been offered up to the table of scrutiny through academic
debate. The historian, Suetonius, records the island’s name as Vectis, meaning
lever/raised up, possibly from between the two arms of the Solent. The word
‘Isle’ was first used in the 13th century and related to the
Anglo-French ‘ile’, from the Latin ‘insula’. Wight is a middle English word
from the old English ‘wiht’ which could mean ‘a living being/beings’ (5th
century). Perhaps then this can be translated as the small Island of the
living, levered up from beneath the sea.
 |
| The entrance to Newport Roman Villa |
THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND
In all probability the Island’s first inhabitants, because
of the availability of a wealth of fresh seafood, would have settled near the
coast. Eventually settlements/trading posts would have evolved along the
Island’s main rivers. Subsequently they have left us a shadowy realm of their
lives, penetrated only by the dimmed beam of archaeology which has enlightened
us about settlements at Brading and Knighton, close to the eastern Yar River,
and another close to the River Medina at Newport. These early people may have
been descendants of the Belgae tribe for artefacts consisting of bowls, butt
beakers and bead-rimmed jars have been recognised as those used by these
people. Century after century evaporated and the peoples of the Island began to
leave more permanent footprints of their existence. Surviving landscapes of barrows
from the early to mid Bronze Age were excavated. The early excavators
discovered bronze metalwork assemblages and a number of ceramic forms. These
have been interpreted to this period in time, based on known styles of object
and vessel form. Sadly, coastal erosion has denied us knowledge of the content of
numerous late Bronze Age and Iron Age sites.
Suetonius, the Roman historian from the early Imperial era
of the Roman Empire, perhaps suggests in his writings that by the time of the disembarkation,
in AD 44, of the Roman General Vespasian (the first Emperor of the Flavian
dynasty, from AD 69-79) with his Second Legion (or part of), the Island was
inhabited by two Iron Age tribes. If this is so, they were possibly factions of
the Durotriges and Atrebates tribes. The Belgae may have formed part of the
tribal domains of the Atrebates and at 43 AD were possibly still a subsidiary
part of the Atrebates kingdom. Historians and archaeology suggest that the main
tribe of the Durotriges were from what is now known as the County of Dorset and
the Atrebates were settled in what is now recorded as the Counties of Sussex and
Hampshire. Therefore, it is possible that the Island had a related tribal
division. Although symbolism eludes the modern observer on this island, an
endorsement of its ancestors can be interpreted by Iron Age coins that have
been sucked up from its fields and consequently scrutinised with the passing of
time. Later Iron Age coins suggest a stronger link with the Durotriges rather
than the Atrebates, for at this point in time more coins relating to the
Durotriges factions overshadow those of the Atrebates. Unfortunately, the coins
relating to the Durotriges, hold no inscriptions or definite images of regional
Chieftains/nobility. It could well be that these coins were minted at
Hengisbury Head (an Iron Age port), which is a headland jutting into the English
Channel between the towns of Bournemouth and Milford on Sea, in the County of
Dorset. An abundance of bronze coins have been excavated there and date from
the pre-Roman period, suggesting a working mint under the control of the
Durotriges tribe. Analysis of known Iron
Age coin finds from the island would perhaps help to establish a chronological
order of Iron Age activity and settlement.
The voice of history falls silent as to how the Island’s
inhabitants responded to Vespasian and his accompanying soldiers. Life upon
this Island was full of enterprise and achievement for their fields were
fertile for cattle, sheep and cereals. The rivers and seas were their arteries
of communication and trade with Britannia and the Continent. Perhaps then, the
peoples were subservient to the will of Vespasian and therefore the disruption
of their lives would have been kept to a minimum. There seemed to be no Roman
roads or Roman towns on this Island, or any indications of conflict, as no
graves/pits containing evidence of violent deaths have been discovered. It is
possible that Vespasian secured this Island for its strategic value, leaving
behind a cohort to keep this Island secure, while he returned to the mainland
to advance the arm of the Roman Empire through Dorset. Vespasian’s first real
violent resistance came from the warriors of the Durotriges tribe but the II
Augusta 2nd Legion came down upon them with a heavy fist as skeletal remains, excavated near Maiden
Castle, and possibly relating to this period in time, bear witness to a gallant
but futile resistance. Vespasian would have been aware that any of the Durotriges
warriors, who hoped to flee and perhaps regroup on the Isle of Wight, would
have been confronted by the same fate as their compatriots. For Vespasian it
would have been an objective to secure the south coast ports and its harbours.
 |
| Views of the excavations during 1926-27 |
NEWPORT
ROMAN VILLA’s EVOLUTION AND DISCOVERY
The villa, with its front facing to the south, was
constructed on part of the lower slope of Mount Pleasant, which from here falls
gently south east to the River Medina. This would have allowed the villa’s
patron, whose name still dwells within the shadows of time, extensive and
commanding views over his estate.
The detective work of archaeology has placed its hands upon an ancient
ditch concealed beneath the present villa. The ditch possibly relates to an
earlier building constructed of timber and clay daub tempered with straw which
consequently seems to have burnt down in the middle of the 2nd century.
In the deepening dusk of the 2nd century, the decision was made to back-fill
the ditch with clay, with this done construction of a new building began. But,
then due to further excavations in the late 1980s the construction date was
revised to the mid 3rd century.
The building materials used for the construction of the
current villa’s walls were flint nodules, chalk, upper greensand stone and limestone,
with its enormous diversity of uses. It was used as aggregate for the walls and
in block form for the quoins, (external angles of the walls), door jambs (vertical
portions of the door frames), and roofing slabs. The geology of this Island
allowed all these materials to be sourced locally. Above the stonework, but now
degraded, sill beams would have held a timber superstructure with waterproofed
infill panels of wattle and daub. It has been suggested that the waterproofing
could have existed of a lime wash and/or plaster. Archaeology also revealed a
sparse amount of window glass mostly from the area of the corridor and from Room
5.They bore the colours of green, blue and a yellowish green. The building
would have been a single storey construction with a corridor/verandah at the
front giving access to the two projecting wings and to the rooms of the central
range.
THE DISCOVERY
Unlike most of the villas I have written about, which were
resurrected from within the delightful countryside of this green and pleasant
land, the Newport villa dwelt within a local housing estate, its remains
interred between Cypress and Avondale Roads. It was only in March 1926, when a
Mr Cooper, a resident in Cypress Road, decided to erect a garage, that workmen
found pieces of Roman tile in the foundation trench. They then proceeded to
expose a portion of tessellated pavement. It was later conceived that this
pavement related to the passage which gave access to the bath-house of the
villa. Thankfully, Mr Cooper agreed to stop the building work until a decision
was taken as to how to move the investigation forward. Excavation was decided
upon and a promptly formed committee consented to the Island’s architect and
antiquarian, Mr Percy G. Stone F.S.A, to be the director of operations. The
concern about the funding of this excavation was alleviated when the Isle of
Wight County Press stepped in to the breach and inspired locally interested
residents to give generous donations. With the known and accepted excavation
techniques available in that era, the mummified remains of the villa began to
be exposed. In 1927, after an excursion further north in to a neighbour’s
garden, the complete ground plan of the villa was revealed. Private enterprise,
in the form of a Mr J C Millgate, saved the villa from being reburied, as he
purchased the land and then generously financed the construction of a cover
building for the villa’s remains. After Mr Millgates death and since 1961, the
Isle of Wight County Council have taken on the responsibility of safeguarding
the villa’s heritage for many more generations of visitors to enjoy.
Subsequently, in 2009, the County Council, with a £40,000 grant from English
heritage, made essential repairs and replacements to the villa’s cover-building
structure. The new roof was designed to improve the environmental conditions
within the villa by reducing moisture levels which contribute to the build-up
of algae on the mosaics.
 |
| The villa coverbuilding |
THE TOUR
As I drive deeper into the county of Hampshire I decide to
park my car at the seaside resort of Southsea. From here I board the hovercraft
which sweeps me across the Solent to the coastal town of Ryde, on the Isle of
Wight. The bus to Newport awaits and I climb the stairs to the upper deck so as
to enjoy the views of the journey. On arrival at the bus terminal in Newport, I
amble the short 10 minute walk to Cypress Road.
 |
| Model of the villa |
 |
| Artefacts |
 |
| Artefacts |
 |
| Artefacts |
On noticing the signpost to the
villa I follow the short paved drive that terminates at the entrance. The
buzzing energy of modern society is immediately exchanged for a calm and serene
atmosphere as I stop and cast my eyes around the inside of the entrance lobby.
The lobby is thoughtfully laid out with a good use of space and my eyes absorb
a model of the villa, display cases containing artefacts and interesting books
and souvenirs. Armed with my ground plan of the villa, I proceed to view the
remains.
 |
| Room 1 - Frigidarium |
 |
| Mosaic Room 1 Frigidarium |
 |
| View of West wing bath suites. |
On entry, Room 1 (frigidarium), my attention is immediately engaged by
a life-like figure on my right which is seated on a wooden bench. He appears to
be resting after spending time weaving on a loom. Close to this reconstructed
scene, and in the south west corner of this room, are the partial remains of a
re-laid, but displayed in situ, mosaic. Most of the design has been lost in the
passing of time so we are left with just a tantalising glimpse of its central
panel. This central panel, working outwards, is protected by a four strand
guilloche. The guilloche is outlined with dark brown tesserae and the colours
of the bands within are red, white and yellow. This, in turn, is surrounded by
two triple fillets, one of white tesserae and the other of brown tesserae. My
eye then gathers in a chequerboard pattern of red and white tesserae, which is
itself encased in two concentric rectangles. Both are five-band (tesserae)
deep, one of brown and the other of white. This mosaic then concludes with
fragmented bands of brown and white tesserae. It is noted that all these bands
have been constructed forming a series of right angles.
 |
| Room 6 Apodyterium |
 |
| Room 6 Apodyterium |
 |
| Room 6 Apodyterium |
 |
| Room 6 Apodyterium |
Beyond the male figure
and behind the hanging curtain is Room 6, the Apodyterium. The remains of this
rooms mosaic floor, now much faded, contains bands of tesserae in red, white
and dark brown. A simple guilloche design is noticed, which is outlined in dark
brown, the colours of the strands in the guilloche are of red, white and
yellow. Two white and two dark brown triple fillets surround this in alternate
fashion. Continuing outwards and composed of larger tesserae are bands of red
and then white, both bands being five strands deep. These lead to a band of
eight strands deep in dark brown. At the northern end of this room are two
additional bands of red and brown, both bands being of five strands deep. Also located in the west wing of the villa are
the remarkably well preserved remains of the bath-house. This was the centre of
recreational and social activities within the villa and the suit comprised of
the following: a frigidarium (cold room) with a cold plunge bath, tepidarium (warm
room), caldarium (hot room) with a semi-circular hot bath and a sudatorium
(sweat room). All the warm rooms were heated by underfloor hypocausts and some
of the pilae (floor supports) can be viewed today.
 |
| The Hypocaust |
T
 |
| Pilae of the Hypocaust |
 |
| Bath |
 |
| View of bath suite |
 |
| Bath |
 |
| Reconstructed floor in bath house. |
The early excavators armed with their trowels and supported
by their inquisitive eyes recognised, from within the earth that crumbled away
from the pilae as they worked, a number of small stones as tesserae. These
tesserae were of red (tile), white (chalk) and grey (limestone) and led to the
assumption that the now lost floors, which were laid above the hypocausts, were
adorned with mosaics. Also retrieved within the pilae were fragments of painted
wall-plaster. These were decorated with red, yellow, grey, green, brown and
purple. All were painted onto a white background and enclosed within simple
borders above a red dado. It percolates into my mind that perhaps the
simplicity of the décor’s designs served the purpose of trying to cement the
atmosphere of tranquillity, so when the bathers took their leave from the
bath-suite, their minds as well as their bodies were amply refreshed.
The information panels, displayed within the villa’s
remains, offer the visitor a descriptive and authentic aid on the
interpretation of the life-style of the wealthy during the late 3rd
century and early 4th century AD.
 |
| Room 5 Newport Roman Villa. |
 |
| Room 5 Newport Roman Villa. |
 |
| View of added fireplace - Room 5. |
 |
| Room 5 Newport Roman Villa. |
Of the fourteen rooms within this villa, I feel that Room 5
is the one that stimulates thought and debate of how it was utilised during the
villa’s occupation. As my eyes glide over and around this room today they rest
upon the artistic reconstructed three panels of design painted on to the back
wall of this room. These are a warm and delightful reminder of the then fashion
and personal choice of décor available to the villa’s proprietor. More
information on painted wall-plaster designs can be viewed on the information
panel carrying the heading ‘mural’. Intriguingly, below these painted panels a
fireplace is noticed set against this southern wall. This is an unusual
feature, it appears to have been a later addition, as its hearth rests upon the
tessellated floor. The smoke from the fire, it seems, would have escaped
through vents constructed under the eaves. Also noticed, at the bottom of the
side walls, are the remains of plaster which is still adhered to the wall,
although sadly the colours and design have been claimed by the passing of time.
The floor of this room, part of which has been distorted by subsidence into an
earlier pit, holds a tessellated rectangular panel of a chequer-board design
constructed in red (tile) and white (chalk) which, on three sides, is
surrounded by a white border. More red is noticed to the east of the floor and
in a continuing band running along the room’s southern edge. Next to Room 5, looking east, and connected
with them by a doorway at the far end of this room’s eastern wall, are two
small rooms divided by piers.
 |
| The Mural |
 |
| Room 9 Newport Roman Villa. |
 |
| Room 8 Newport Roman Villa. |
Both these rooms (8 and 9) have simple
tessellated floors of red and white tesserae. Room 9 has been thoughtfully
reconstructed and furnished as the villa kitchen. As my inquisitive eye views
this reconstruction, the tessellated floor of Room 8 is noticed in the
background. Being armed with the ground-plan of the villa (purchased from the
shop) is a huge asset in helping to understand the layout of the central and eastern
rooms of the villa.
 |
| Ground plan of the villa |
The ground plan informs us that most of the western wing is
absorbed by the rooms which relate to the bathhouse. Therefore, perhaps, the
central and eastern rooms would have been utilised as the residential living
quarters. These would have included dining and reception rooms, possibly
bedrooms, and a kitchen, all accessible from the corridor (7). Room 10, entered
from the corridor, is the central apartment of the villa (19 feet 7 inches by
19 feet 4 inches) and unconnected with any other room. The last room to view
within the modern cover building is now used as the education room (10). Accessed
from its southern side, which is the rooms original entrance. As I enter this
room my imagination becomes vividly alive encouraged by the lingering
atmosphere of fun, laughter and learning. There is an absorbing clarity and
beauty about this room, full of all things Roman. There is a reconstructed
kitchen and artificial food with menus. Mosaic making is available, as is a
weaving loom, Roman board games and pieces of Vectus pottery to handle and
reconstruct. These activities can be pursued while wearing traditional Roman
clothes, all to be chosen from a rail containing tunics, stollas, pallas and
birrus britannicus.
 |
| Education Room (Room 10) |
 |
| Education Room (Room 10) |
 |
| Education Room (Room 10) |
 |
| Education Room (Room 10) |
 |
| Education Room (Room 10) |
The next entrance from
the corridor (looking east) opens into a short passage (11) which gives access
to rooms 12 and 13. Room 14 seems to have had a hypocaust and is raised by at
least 2 feet above the corridor level. A little of the original hypocaust
remained and from within this, during the 1926/27 excavation, pieces of
decorated wall-plaster were discovered. A small portion of the east wing
remains buried under a neighbouring garden. My eyes are pleasantly rescued from
flint walls and grass by a neatly laid out and presented Roman garden. The
garden is overseen by a well-worn statue of the Roman goddess Flora. Flora is
the fertility goddess associated with spring and her festival, Floralia, was
celebrated from April 28 to May 3 each year and symbolised the renewal of the cycle
of life.
 |
| View of the Roman Garden |
 |
| View of the Roman Garden |
 |
| The Roman Goddess Flora |
 |
| Plants of the Roman Garden |
 |
| Plants of the Roman Garden |
With a lack of coins and pottery which can be firmly dated
after 320 AD, it suggests that the villa’s life as a high status residence was
relatively short, perhaps no more than 50 – 80 years. As for the coins, the
latest one which was found was discovered outside the west wall and was of
Helena (after 328 AD). The pottery consisted of local ware, New Forest ware and
some samian ware. The New Forest ware would not have been in use before 275 AD.
The latest piece that has been dated (4th century) was part of a
mortarium.
 |
| East wing room. |
 |
| East wing room. |
Perhaps the demise of the Newport villa was a gradual
process fuelled by a continuing and declining prosperity. It seems that the
trade routes of the Island were being disrupted by the then three most powerful
Germanic peoples, the Jutes, Saxons and the Angles. The villa and its estate,
being close to the head of a navigable river, would therefore have been
vulnerable to spasmodic pirate raiding parties. The coming of the eerie evening
mists, and the engulfing dark of the nights, would have helped to sow the seeds
of fear that the villa would become a rewarding target for the raiding pirates.
Consequently, perhaps then the wealthy family sought a more secure home further
inland and their villa became the responsibility of an estate manager. The
signs that the villa’s conventional life of some luxury were beginning to
falter is indicated when the excavation reports of 1926/27 are scrutinized. The
bath range seemed to go out of use as the hypocaust arch was blocked/sealed
with slabs of stone. The rooms of the bath-house could then have been utilised
as store-rooms for grain and produce, for the blocking up of the heating system
would have kept out destructive vermin. It is possible that the fireplace in
Room 5 was constructed to replace the heat that would have been denied from the
adjacent, redundant bath-house. Life at the villa was certainly becoming less
sophisticated. Room 10 seems to have been utilised by a blacksmith, as ashes
and a quantity of iron slag were excavated from within it. Interestingly, two
coins were discovered from within this room. A coin of Tetricus (271-273 AD)
was rescued from the ashes of the blacksmiths fire. The other, a bronze coin of
Postumus (258-267 AD) was recovered from the robbed-out floor. Intriguingly,
the excavation reports inform us that the floors in Rooms 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14
have been totally obliterated and that no recognisable signs of any underlay
were visible. Bearing in mind that the discovery of painted wall plaster in the
remnants of the hypocaust, in Room 14, it is not beyond the realms of
possibility that these floors were decorated with mosaics and that they were
sensitively removed to be relayed elsewhere.
 |
| Percy Stone 1926 |
Eventually, following the pirates, the immigrant settlers
would have come bringing with them their own building technology using wood and
thatch. They had their own pagan gods and their own mythology brought to life
by their gifted orators and story-tellers, using poems and riddles that would
have kept the memories of their ancestors fresh in the minds of the younger
generations. All through this culture change farming would have remained the
most important focus for the future and, I feel, there would have evolved an
interlacing and interlocking relationship with the earlier islanders, gradually
the trade routes would once again have flourished.
By the early 5th century Bede’s ecclesiastical
history suggests that the Island was completely settled by the Jutes. A place
now, perhaps of peaceful living, the population continued to farm the land and
pay homage to their chosen pagan gods. Many generations would have lived and
died appeased by this accepted existence. Then in 661 AD a storm laden cloud of
Christianity briefly descended upon this Island led by the violent hand and
mind of Wulfhere, the first Christian king of all of Mercia. It is chronicled
that on an enforced return to the Midlands by Wulfhere paganism was once again
embraced by the Islanders.
Then in 685 AD, the violent priests of Christianity
returned, this time they were led by the West Saxon king, Caedwalla of Wessex,
who viewed the Islanders as apostates. The historian, Bede, suggests that
paganism on the Island was obliterated by these West Saxon invaders who were
spurred on by their belief that on their deaths a heaven of eternal joy awaited
them. Bede also tells us that Caedwalla vowed to give a quarter of the Island
to the church if he successfully conquered the Island. Interestingly, Caedwalla
abdicated from his kingship in 688 AD, travelled to Rome and was baptised by
Pope Sergius I. Days later Caedwalla died and his remains were laid to rest in
St Peter’s Church, Rome.
Perhaps then, with the construction of the now lost churches
of worship to this new religion, the peoples of this scenic and picturesque
Island were granted a settled peace in which to continue living their lives.
Architectural historians remind us that two churches on the Island, St Georges
at Arreton and All Saints at Freshwater, contain some recognisable Saxon
construction.
As season after season, year after year, and generation
after generation tumbled into obscurity, the inhabitants settled down within
the firm embrace of Christianity, but then in 789 AD another devils brood
gathered upon their horizon …….. the Vikings.
No comments:
Post a Comment