The Cotswold HyperGuide - Roman Sites
- Bury Hill Camp, Winterbourne Down. Later Roman occupation
of this original Iron Age site of 5 acres has obscured much. Excavation
showed many of the interior features - including a long mound
which covers a house - to be of Roman origin, as well as an exterior
well and 9 feet high ramparts.
- Chedworth Roman Villa. Take the A 429 (Fosse Way)
and turn off at Fossebridge, just south of Northleach. This is
a very popular villa site. Opening times vary, so best to check
in advance. Originally a group of separate buildings , later joined
together and the bath house enlarged, it is situated in a small
wooded valley with a nearby spring, which later became a Christian
shrine. The remains of mosaic pavements can be seen as well as
Turkish baths and Spartan baths. The on-site museum contains all
finds from the villa, a hunting relief from a nearby pagan temple
and a cremation urn from a barrow near the original entrance way.
- Cirencester, Corinium Dobunnorum. Much information
can be obtained at the Corinium Museum and
adjacent archaeological society. Originally a civilian settlement
next to a fort, Corinium soon expanded and became an administrative
centre second only to London. A street grid was laid out and buildings
included a basilica, forum, many shops and private houses, as
well as a large amphitheatre whose banks still stand 27 feet high.
Remains can also be seen of the city walls, towers, ramparts and
bastions. The town status rose to provincial capital, and it survived
as an inhabited centre even when it fell into Saxon hands in A.D.
577.
Great Witcombe Villa. Ministry of Works site off
A417 east of the A46 cross-roads. Beautiful setting (see right) almost reminiscent
of the Mediterranean landscape, close to springs. It has a courtyard
with rooms on three sides, bath suites with hypocausts, mosaic
pavements and evidence of brightly coloured murals - pots of pigment
were found during excavations.
- King's Weston Villa, Sea Mills, Bristol. Contains
a site museum with some mosaic remains. Only three rooms are visible
but others remain unexcavated. A wooden shed is built over part
of the site.
- Lydney Hillfort and Temple, (see also our list of
Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age Sites). Remains found here of both
Iron Age and Roman occupation are housed in a private museum in
Lydney Park.
- Woodchester Roman Villa. Situated to the north of
the village this site has at least 46 rooms arranged around two
courtyards. Much of this house still awaits discovery. The spectacular
Orpheus Pavement Mosaic is uncovered at (very) irregular intervals
for viewing.
Many smaller sites have been revealed by excavation, and covered
over again. Many urban sites in places such as Gloucester and
Cirencester have been covered by later buildings. This list covers
only the better known sites, and a publication such as Alan McWhirr's
Roman Britain should be referred to for details. If you
have a specific interest in the Romans, then you must visit the
Roman Baths at Bath.
Return to the Cotswold HyperGuide History Page
Copyright Digital Brilliance 1995