GREAT PENNS MEAD/THE RYE
Location/Address
None recorded
Type
Other site, structure or landscape
Assets that cannot fit any of the other categories. This category includes sites of archaeological interest, where the original form and function may not be apparent without the use of archaeological techniques and interpretation.
Description
Roman villa complex, partly excavated in 1797, 1862-3, 1932 and 1954.
1722 TESSELLATED PAVEMENT DISCOVERED (B1).
1862 VILLA EXCAVATED NEAR MIDDLE OF FIELD (B2).
1954 4 STRUCTURES OF VILLA COMPLEX EXCAVATED: MEDIUM SIZED HOUSE OF DOUBLE CORRIDOR TYPE; DETACHED BATHHOUSE; BOUNDARY WALL WITH GATE & GATEHOUSE & OUTBUILDING. LAID OUT ABOUT AD 150-170. NO EVIDENCE OF DESTRUCTION (B8-9).
Evaluation test pitting carried out by Oxford Archaeology in December 2000 within the swimming pool complex indicated that remains of villa walls and floor make-up deposits survived at least in places at a depth of 0.9m below recent made ground (B16).
A watching brief carried out by Oxford Archaeology in 2002 during groundworks revealed in-situ sections of the villa walls (Hartley's rooms XIIa and XIIb) and a possible make-up layer for the villa floor, surviving beneath existing buildings of the modern swimming pool complex (B19).
Geophysical survey by Northamptonshire Archaeology in 4 areas to the north, east and west of the swimming pool complex in March 2001 failed to locate any anomalies that could be attributed to the villa or associated structures (B17). Subsequent additional geophysical surveys in October and November 2001 identified two areas of high anomolies to the north of the swimming pool, probably representing buried walls of buildings associated with the villa, which are tentatively interpreted as boundary walls, ancillary buildings and a second bath suite (B18).
Watching brief carried out by Oxford Archaeology between May and December 2005 during groundworks for extensions to car park, service trenching and associated landscaping to SE of The Rye Centre identified spreads of demolition debris from the villa in planting pits 2-6, both car park extensions, the drain chamber and the interceptor tank. The presence of post-medieval material within these deposits is interpreted as evidence of post-medieval cultivation [or disturbance/landscaping in 18th/19th centuries?]. A layer of Romano-British brick approx 0.5m thick, interpreted as the demolition spread from a wall, was recorded in planting pit 6. It is suggested that this could be a boundary wall due to its distance (100m) from the known villa buildings. [If so, wall might represent an outer precinct, or simply an outbuilding?] (B21).
Parchmarks of a separate outbuilding or possibly another villa building [0038007000] identified about 60m NW of the main villa (B22).
Description of mosaics, rooms and finds from an excavation undertaken c1862, from 1865 BAS Minute book. It notes 'the pavement found in1724 corresponds with nothing hitherto discovered'(B23)
Assessed by Monuments Protection Programme and scored as follows:
Group Value (Clustering) - low
Group Value (Association) - low
Archaeological Interest (Survival) - low
Archaeological Interest (Documentation) - high
Archaeological Interest (Potential) - medium
Archaeological Interest (Diversity) – low
Historic Interest - N/A
Landmark Status – low
Statement of Significance
Asset type
Roman villa complex, partly excavated in 1797, 1862-3, 1932 and 1954.Images and Documents
Date Listed
n/a
Last Updated
24 Jul 2023
Find Out More
Find out more about this Asset in Buckinghamshire's Local Heritage List:
https://local-heritage-list.org.uk/buckinghamshire/asset/2995
https://local-heritage-list.org.uk/buckinghamshire/asset/2995